HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/17/23 HISTROIC PRESERVATION SPECIAL MEETINGON
by City �lerk'e
22 DEC 30 PH 2: D i CITY OF BAKERSFIELD City of
Bak sfie
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
by
MEETING OF JANUARY 17, 2023
AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING 4:00 P.M
City Hall North
1600 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield California
First Floor Conference Room A
A. ROLL CALL
B. PUBLIC STATEMENTS
1. Agenda Item Public Statements
2. Non -Agenda Public Statements
C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Minutes of the December 20, 2022, meeting for approval.
D. CLOSED SESSION
None
E.
None
F. PUBLIC HEARINGS
None
G. REPORTS
None
H. OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
1. Workshop with presentation by Historic Resources Group on draft Historic Contact
Statement as part of historic neighborhood surveys project.
Recommendation: Staff recommends discussion.
J. COMMISSIONER STATEMENTS
K. ADJOURNMENT
Respectfully submitted,
Czca" QA,4y& for
Paul M. Saldana,
Economic and Community Development Director
If anyone wants more information on any of these agenda items, call Cecelia Griego, Economic Development
Principal Planner; Economic & Community Development Department at (661) 326-3788.
S:\EDCD_ShamdV) Economic Development\Histonc Preservation\ED HPC\HPC 1veetingsW23\1.17.22 HPC Agenda.docx
CITY OF BAKERSFIELD
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
MEETING OF DECEMBER 20, 2022
MINUTES
Chair Stussy called the regular meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission to order
on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at 4:05 P.M. at Conference Room B of City Hall North.
Roll call was as follows:
MEMBERS PRESENT: Cathy Butler
Eileen Diaz
Mike McCoy
Stephen Montgomery
Susan Stussy
STAFF PRESENT: Cecelia Griego
Brigiett Guzman
Joshua Rudnick
Elizabeth Villanueva
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
1. Agenda Item Public Statements
a. Pamela Smith, representative for the Mt Zion Missionary Baptist Church
attended to inquire about purchasing a plaque for the church designated
as a cultural resource building.
b. Pamela Smith accepted cultural resource recognition certificate on behalf
of the Mt Zion Missionary Baptist Church
2. Non -Agenda Item Public Statements
a. None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Motion to approve minutes from the October 18, 2022 meeting.
a. Minutes approved: Motion made by Chair Stussy; APPROVED: All Ayes
CLOSED SESSION:
None
CORRESPONDENCE:
1. Caltrans Highway 204 letter. Principal Planner Griego requests commission read
and respond so that staff can prepare a letter and sent to Caltrans in response.
Project area includes Truxtun Avenue and the SR 204/SR 178 Interchange, SR 204
and 24th Street and SR 58 to Garces Circle. Commissioner Montgomery
commented no historical elements were identified and to include a comment to
Caltrans requesting sustainable landscaping. Chair Stussy requested staff send a
thank you letter to Caltrans and offer commission for any questions or comments.
a. Correspondence signed by Chair Stussy.
2. The Big Shoe Letter. Letter on behalf of the commission requesting the owners of
the Big Shoe building located on 931 Chester Avenue to apply for recognition on
the Bakersfield Registrar of Historic Places or Area of Historic Interest.
a. Correspondence signed by Chair Stussy
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
None
REPORTS:
None
OLD BUSINESS:
Review of Historic Preservation Commission Goals & Action Items.
a. Recommendation: Staff recommends discussion.
b. Discussion for Goal 1 (Establish a Mills Act Program)
1. Staff will prepare a draft context survey for presentation to the
commission early next year. Commission members shall deliberate a
preliminary historic context statement
ii. Principal Planner Griego presented and updated Mills Act
Ordinance Comparison Table. Commission Members appreciated
the background information and will use for consideration when
implementing the Mills Act Program.
iii. Commissioner Diaz suggested partnering with local college
agencies for the Historic Resource Surveys and will begin with the
inquiries. Commission agreed.
c. Discussion for Goal 4 (Public Education and Encourage Historic Pride in
Bakersfield)
1. Recipients of the Cultural Resource designations were read to the
meeting members. Commissioner McCoy and Commissioner Butler
accepted the certificates on behalf of their organizations.
ii. Brochure. Commissioner McCoy highlighted inconsistencies with the
date ranges for the historic buildings on the brochure. Commissioner
Butler and Montgomery concurred with Commissioner McCoy and
requested brochure updates.
iii. Commissioner Montgomery and Butler suggested updating the
number placements on the map for a more accurate representation
of the building location.
iv. Commissioner Diaz inquired about the criteria used to select
brochure images. Commissioner Stussy responded they were
selected based on popularity but is open to modifications.
Commissioner Diaz requested that 'lesser -known" historic buildings
also be included in the eight selected images. Commissioners will
email Principal Planner Griego regarding any image substitutes to be
approved by Chair Stussy.
NEW BUSINESS
None
COMMISSION STATEMENTS:
1. Commissioner Stussy inquired about a January Meeting Session. Principal Planner
Griego responded that the meeting is tentative at this point.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting adjourned at 5:01 p.m. by Chair Stussy.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Meeting Date: January 17, 2023 Agenda Section: New Business Agenda Item: I - 1
TO: Historic Preservation Commission
FROM: Economic and Community Development Department
DATE: December 30. 2022
SUBJECT: Workshop with presentation by Historic Resources Group on draft Historic Contact
Statement as part of historic neighborhood surveys project.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation: Staff recommends discussion and feedback.
BACKGROUND:
Historic Resources Group is presenting to the Historic Preservation Commission the draft Historic
Contact Statement as part of historic neighborhood surveys project.
Attachment:
• Draft Historic Context Statement
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HISTORIC
RESOURCES
GROUP
CITY OF BAKERSFIELD
CITYWIDE HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT
DRAFT
DECEMBER 5, 2022
OVERVIEW OF CONTEXTS AND THEMES
The following DRAFT citywide Historic Context Statement is organized by chronological
periods of development to provide a framework for identifying and evaluating potentially
historic properties within the City of Bakersfield. For each period that has a population of
existing resources, the context includes a series of identified themes relating to specific aspects
of the city's historical development during that period. Please note that themes may be revised
or expanded in subsequent drafts based upon further research and field investigation.
CONTEXT: Native American Period
The range of the Yowlumne was the largest and their tribal life the most
organized of all Yokuts tribes. Their range was in every direction from their
central village, Woilu, located about where now (1973) stands the Santa Fe
passenger station in Bakersfield... The Yowlumne hunted on the hills as far north
as Voso Creek. To the south they ranged to the shore of Kern Lake southeast to
present Greenfield and across the south shore of Kern Lake. To the southeast
they ranged to within a few miles of where Tejon Creek leaves the foothills.'
Frank F. Latta, Handbook of Yokuts
Indians
The Yokuts of the San Joaquin Valley
The City of Bakersfield is located in the southern region of the San Joaquin Valley, which is the
ancestral home of the Native American group today referred to as the Yokuts. The Yokuts
language is classified as a member of the California Penutian language family and their name is
derived from the word for "persons" or "people."' Yokuts are typically divided into three
geographical groups: the Northern Valley Yokuts, Southern Valley Yokuts, and Foothill Yokuts.
The City of Bakersfield is located in the area that was inhabited by the Southern Valley Yokuts.'
For over 8,000 years, the Southern Valley Yokuts inhabited the area comprising Tulare, Buena
Vista, and Kern lakes, their connecting sloughs, and the lower regions of the Kings, Kaweah,
Tule, and Kern rivers. Most of the known Southern Valley Yokuts villages were located along
the Kern River northeast of present-day Bakersfield, or near Kern and Buena Vista lakes south
and southeast of Bakersfield. This area was characterized by its combination of tule-rich marsh
lands and drier plains with sage, greasewood, and bunchgrass.
The Southern Valley Yokuts were split into self-governing local groups, or tribelets, each of
which spoke a unique dialect and had a special name for itself. Tribelets typically averaged 350
members and occupied some 250 square miles of territory. This land was collectively owned by
members of the group. Several settlements were combined to form a political unit, and
approximate locations of over 50 Southern Valley Yokuts settlements are known from
archaeological and ethnographic sources.' However, it is estimated that approximately 90
percent of all archaeological sites associated with Yokuts have been destroyed.'
Southern Valley Yokuts established permanent villages and resided in single-family oval -
shaped houses of post -frame construction covered with tule mats. Political positions within the
Frank F. Latta, Handbook of Yokuts Indians (Santa Cruz, CA: Bear State Books, 1977), 275.
° Alfred L. grotto, Handbook of the Indians ofCallfornia (New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1976), 488.
' Michael Silverstein, 'Yokuts: Introduction, in Handbook of North American Indians 8: California, ed. Robert F. Heuer
(Washington, DC Smithsonian Institute, 1978), 446.
°William l.Wallace, "Southern Valley Yokuts; in Handbook of Noah American Indians, 454.
' Francis A. Riddell, The Status of San Joaquin Valley Archaeology," in Essays in California Archaeology: AMemorial to Franklin
Fenega, ed. William J. Wallace and Francis A. Riddell (Berkeley, CA: University of California Archaeological Research Facility,
2002),
tribelets consisted of a central chief or two co -chiefs (one from each totemic moiety), captains,
dance managers, tribal spokesmen, and spiritual leaders. The position of chief was typically
passed through patrilineal inheritance. The chief was responsible for directing celebrations and
ceremonies, mediating disputes, and hosting visitors, among other roles. In addition to the
chief, spiritual leaders also held power and authority over the tribal community and took a
leading role in many public rituals. Spiritual leaders were important for their ability to heal the
sick through various methods that varied by practitioner. A system of reciprocal relations
frequently existed between chiefs and spiritual leaders.°
The Yokuts'subsistence practices focused on fishing; hunting waterfowl; and collecting
shellfish, roots, and seeds.' Fishing was typically accomplished by using tule nets and rafts,
basketry traps, and spearing. Snares were used to catch geese, ducks, mud hens, and other
waterfowl. Wild seeds and roots provided a large portion of the Southern Valley Yokuts' diet.'
The Yokuts practiced controlled burning of freshwater marshes to clear out old reeds, recycle
nutrients, provide open land for waterfowl, and stimulate new plant growth
Tule was an important natural resource for the Southern Valley Yokuts, who relied on the plant
for the manufacture of baskets, cradles, traps, and houses, among other goods. Wood and stone
were not common in the region, and were typically acquired through trade with neighboring
tribes. Tools such as knives, projectile points, and scraping tools were made from bone or
imported lithic materials.10 Transportation was both by foot and via canoe -shaped rafts, or
balsas," fashioned from tule reeds.
Yokuts women weaving baskets at Tule River Reservation, c. 1906.
(Huntington Library)
Food and trade were important components of the Yokuts' economy and featured in tribal
legends. Both individuals and families could serve as professional traders, often coveringgreat
distances. Items traded included elk and deer skins, baskets, steatite, acorn flour, and marine
° Wallace, "Southern Valley Yokuts,"454, 457-458.
' Jeffrey S. Rosenthal, Gregory G. White, and Mark Q. Sutton, 'The Central Valley: A View from the Catbird's Seat,' in Cdiramia
Prehistory: Colonization, Culture, and Comylexiy, ed. Terry L. Jones and Kathryn A. Kier (Lanham, MA: Altamira Press, 2002),
155.
° Wallace, 450; Kat Anderson, Tending the WildNative American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources
(Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2005),178.
"Anderson, Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management or California's Natural Resources, 145.
10 Wallace, 451; Rosenthal et al., 155.
"This name is of Spanish origin.
shell beads from the coast, and obsidian, sinew -baked bows, moccasins, salt, pine nuts, and
mountain sheep skins from the Owens Valley region.12 Several "interface centers" were
established in the San Joaquin Valley to function as regional centers for trade and mourning
ceremonies, which could attract hundreds to thousands of people.
Native American Communities in Bakersfield
The Yowlumne (also known as Yawelmani or Yauelmane)13 were a group of Southern Valley
Yokuts that occupied the upper region of the San Joaquin Valley. The Yowlumne tribe had four
permanent villages in their 350 square miles of territory.1r
The main village of the Yowlumne was Woilu/Woilo, located on a knoll along the old channels
of the Kern River within the city limits of present-day Bakersfield." A second village was
located across the river to the west of Woilu; these villages were often collectively identified as
a single center.16 These villages were likely located near the present-day intersections of 16th
and F streets and 16th and A streets. Because Woilu was the head village it was also the seat of
the Yowlumne chief and an important trading location. As remembered by Wahumchah, the
last full blood Yowlumne:
My father told me he was born right where Bakersfield is now. His people had
two villages there, one on each side [of the] river. One was [on the] high knoll
close by river, It was my father's business to trade and to run anywhere his Teah
(Chief) wanted him toga. He was Winatun (Messenger).17
Other villages were scattered around the plains that are now occupied by the City of
Bakersfield, although these villages were not permanent, as the occupants were forced to move
when the Kern River flooded. Other permanent villages included Wawcoye on the south banks
of the Kern River, and Hawsu and Tsinleu on the north banks.
The Yowlumne arranged their tule houses, or dumlus, in a row, with each house containing a
single family.la The Yowlumne also occupied lake tule houses, which were long wedge-shaped
tents that could reach a length of four hundred feet and house a dozen or more families."They
hunted badger, fox, deep, antelope, rabbits, and squirrels. Belonging to the group identified by
Latta as the "River Culture," the Yowlumne were more abundantly supplied with fish, game,
and plant food than other Yokuts tribes."
"Anna H. Gayton, "Yokuts and Western Mono Ethnography) Unn,,H ty or California Anthropological Records, 10, 56, 215; Brooke
S. Arla sh, "Yokuts Trade Networks and Native Cultural Change in Central and Eastern California," Ethnomstory 41 no. 4 (Duke
University Press, 1993), 623,
c This context uses the name "Yowlumne' which is the tribes name as identified by W ahumchah, the last full blood Yowlumne as
corded in Frank F. Latta, Handbook of Yokuts Indians (Santa Cruz, CA: Bear State Books. 19)1), 203,
14 Latta, Handbook of Yokuts Indians, 205, 63.
" Wallace, Fig. 1, 448; Latta, 64.
16 Latta does not provide a name for this second village. Latta 298, 310,
" W ahumchah as recorded by Latta, 309.
A. H. Gayton, Yokuts and Western Mono Ethnography I: Tulare Lake, Southern Valley, and Central Foothill Yokuts (Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press, 1948), 13,
soLatta, Handbook of Yokuts Indians, 244,
30Latta, Handbook of Yokuts Indians, 251-252,
G
SSS
i �
...,o
n
wN;
y o
1
Map of Southern and Central Yokuts by Alfred Kroeber, 1901.
(Internet Archive)
THEMES
There are no extant built resources in the City of Bakersfield dating from this period."
Therefore, no themes have been developed for this context.
" The study of archaeological resources is outside the scope of this project.
CONTEXT: European Exploration,1542-1768
The Cabrillo expedition claimed more than 800 miles of coastline for Spain. It did
not find a route to the Spice Islands, the mythical passage, orgold. What Cabrillo
did accomplish had long lasting importance for Spain... the Spanish exploration
gave way to the Colonial Era.22
National Park Service, Cabrillo National
Monument
Although the territory we know today as California was already inhabited by Native Americans,
by the 1500s Spain was motivated to take possession of the Pacific Coast amid concerns that if
they failed to do so, the land might be claimed by competing foreign powers. In 1542, King
Carlos dispatched Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo to explore the West Coast of
North America on behalf of the Spanish Empire. Cabrillo set sail in June of 1542 and arrived in
what is now San Diego Bay in September of that year. In doing so, Cabrillo became the first
known European to set foot on California soil, claiming the territory for the Spanish Empire."
In 1579, a competing claim of the Pacific Coast was made by Sir Francis Drake for England,
prompting two more Spanish expeditions, by Sebastian Rodriguez Cerri in 1596, and by
Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602.
By the 1760s, Spanish political and economic conditions —as well as leadership —had changed.
Spain was now facing a greater territorial threat from England and Russia. At the same time,
Jesuit missionaries were attempting to convert the Native Americans to Christianity.24 In 1767,
Spain's King Carlos III issued a proclamation ordering all Jesuits to be expelled from Spanish
territories. Gaspar de Portol3 was named Governor of the Californias and dispatched to the
region to dispossess the Jesuits and turn California over to the Spanish Franciscans."
Following the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), the Spanish Crown made the transition from
exploration to permanent settlement of Alta California. In this war, Great Britain gained several
territories in the Americas, undermining Spain's dominance in the region. In response, Spain
charged the Franciscan order with leading the settlement of Alta California in the mid-18th
century.
THEMES
There are no extant built resources in the City of Bakersfield dating from this period.�6
Therefore, no themes have been developed for this context.
"National Park Service, Cabrillo National Monument, http,//npshistory.com/publications/cabr/index.htm (accessed October 31,
2022).
Some sources state that both the Hernando de Alarcon and Melchor Diaz expeditions may have entered present-day California
in 1540.
u Zoeth Skinner Eldedge, The March afPortola and the Discovery of the Boy ofsan Francium (San Francisco: The California
Promotion Committee, 1901), 2021.
zs Edridge, The March of Portola andthe Discovery of the Bay ofsan Francisco, 23.
ae The period of European Exploration focused mainly along the California coastline. Although the explorers had frequent
interactions with the Native Americans along the way, there is no documentary evidence that they had cause or inclination to
explore the present-day San Joaquin Valley. That would come during the period of Spanish colonization.
CONTEXT: Colonization During the Spanish and Mexican Eras,
1769-1848
I descended further, accompanied by three Indians whom I met on the road, and
reached a position wherefrom I perceived a rancheria on the other side of the
river ..The people of the rancheria had a great feast aver my arrival, and having
regaled me well I reciprocated to them all with tobacco andglass abundant
beads... On this famous river, which I named Rio de San Felipe, there are
pastures, famous woods, and much irrigatedground.2J
Francisco Garces, Franciscan Priest
In 1769, the Spanish government dispatched an expedition led by Captain Gaspar de Portola,
the newly appointed governor of the Californias, and Franciscan Father Junipero Serra to
establish the first Spanish settlement in Alta California. Portola established a military outpost
at the Presidio of San Diego, thereby claiming Alta California as Spanish territory. Within the
month, Serra also founded Mission San Diego de Alcala at Presidia Hill, the first of the twenty-
one missions that would be established in Alta California by the Spanish and the Franciscan
Order between 1769 and 1823. Following establishment of the Presidia of San Diego, Portola
set out with a small group of explorers on an overland expedition along what would become
known as the El Camino Real ("The Royal Road'), which ran close to the Pacific Coast, west of
the Central Valley.
The earliest documented interaction between Yokuts and Spaniards was in 1772, when Captain
Pedro Fages and a detachment of soldiers traveled through the southern San Joaquin Valley.
Four years later, in 1776, Franciscan priest Padre Francisco Garces (1738-1781) led a second
Spanish expedition into the San Joaquin Valley.38 Garces had been dispatched to explore the
Central Valley to find a better route between Mission San Gabriel and Monterey.E9 Garces
traveled to the Yowlumne Yokuts village on the northern bank of the Kern River near present-
day Bakersfield.
Garces proved a fearless explorer and a tireless missionary. He made five entradas, or journeys
of discovery, into the mysterious lands that lay to the west of Mission San Xavier del Bac, near
Tucson. Between 1768 and 1776, he traveled through Arizona, and Southern and Central
Mexico and Arizona to the west coast.
It was on his fifth and final entrada that Garces passed through present-day Bakersfield. He
sought a place to cross the river, selecting one where there were Indian rancherias on either
side. The water was high and swift and Garces could not swim. The Native Americans agreed
to help him and managed to pull Garces across, transporting his robes and possessions Garces
37 Elliot Coues, On the Trail of a Spanish Pioneer: The Diary and Itinerary of Francisco Garces (Missionary Priest) in his Travels
Through Sonora, Arizona, and California 1775-1776, will (New York, NY: Francis P. Harper, 1900), 281-283,
EB Arkush, 623-624.
,r Richard C. Bailey, Bakersfield: Heart ofthe Golden Empire, 14,
in caritas, or baskets water -proofed with pitch found in the petroleum -rich area.30 The present-
day site of Garces Circle is the approximate site of the Indian rancheria visited by Garces on
May 7,1776. Padre Garces named the spot San Miguel de los Noches par el Santa Principe.
Garces died five years later in the Yuma Massacres, in which the Native Americans revolted
against groups of Spanish settlers and soldiers who tried to colonize Yuma with settlements.
More Spaniards would pass through the San Joaquin Valley in the following decades, but
recorded visits were not known to have occurred until the early 19th century. By this time, the
Spanish planned to extend the mission system inland into the San Joaquin Valley. Early
expeditions in 1806 to establish favorable sites for mission settlements were unsuccessful, and
several Yokuts groups were forced into the existing Soledad, San Luis Obispo, San Antonio, and
San Juan Bautista missions. As native populations at the missions fell —largely due to disease,
declining birth rates, and defections —military detachments were sent into the interior to
capture runaway neophytes, recover stolen horses, and seek out new recruits. The brutality of
these campaigns is evident in the diary of Father Fray Jose Viader of Mission San Jose, who
traveled to the San Joaquin Valley in October 1810:
Before dawn we assaulted a village on this side of the river and only one person
escaped, a San Jose Christian named Bernardo. He, having gone to sleep some
distance from the village, jumped into the water and swam in great haste to
warn those at the dance. For this reason, we immediately fell upon the other
village, which was on the opposite side of the river, and took it entire. The
prisoners in all included 15 San Jose Christians 18 heathen men, and 51 heathen
women. 31
As these campaigns increased in frequency and violence, the Yokuts offered armed resistance
to the expeditions. Yokuts resisted Spanish and Mexican domination with an independence
maintained through raids; Yokuts raided horses from mission herds to sustain their economic
independence while also employing guerilla warfare tactics to resist punitive Spanish military
expeditions.3E
Despite their resistance to Spanish colonization and the mission system, the Yokuts did
incorporate some aspects of Euro-American material culture into their traditional societies.
Yokuts traders played a pivotal role in the introduction of Euro-American trade items among
native groups in central California and the eastern Sierra Nevada. Specifically, Yokuts
increasingly used Spanish glass beads as currency, and adopted the horse into their lifeways to
increase their political and economic influence.33
The first American visitor to the San Joaquin Valley was Jedediah Strong Smith in 1827. He
was followed by a trapper named Edwin Young in 1830, who was traveling with Kit Carson. In
1844, John C. Fremont explored the valley, reaching the Kern River on April 12, 1844, at which
r0 Raymond F. Wood, "Francisco Garces Explorer of Southern California," Southern California Quarterly, September 1969, Vol. 51. No.
3,202.
"Sherburne F. Cook, Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California: Central Valley, 1800-1820 (University of California
Anthropological Records 16), 259.
"Arkush, 626.
33 Arkush, 620; Akins and Bauer, 97,
time Fremont commented, "It is about thirty-five feet wide with a stony and gravelly bed, and
the swiftest stream we have crossed since leaving the bay."'9 The following year, Fremont was
again asked to make an exploration of the area and selected sixty men to accompany him. One
of the men was Edward "Ned" Meyer Kern, a Philadelphian. He was 23 years old and a talented
artist who sketched pictures for the expedition. Fremont named the Kern River after him.
The Mexican Secularization Act of 1833 directed the closure of the California missions. The
regulations intended to return the land to the indigenous inhabitants, assigning them one half
of the mission lands and property to Native Americans in grants of thirty-three acres of arable
land, along with common land sufficient enough to pasture their stock. However, the
distribution of mission lands did not unfold in the way that the regulations anticipated. Local
men assigned to distribute the lands to the indigenous people systematically denied indigenous
peoples' access to the nearly eight million acres of mission lands.
In order to attract settlers to the region, Mexico established a system of land grants that
divided the land into large tracts known as ranchos. The Mexican government granted these
ranchos to private individuals who were Mexican soldiers, settlers, or financiers. Kern County
had five such ranchos: San Emigdio, La Liebre, El Tejdn, Rancho Castac, and Los Alamos y
Agua Caliente. On July 14, 1842, Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado granted Jose Antonio
Dominguez the four -square league Rancho San Emigdio at the south end of the San Joaquin
Valley. The rancho eventually ended up in the holdings of the Kern County Land Company.'' By
1840, Mexican families were living just south of present-day Bakersfield. Historian Eugene
Burmeister notes that one of these was the Cuen family.36 Perfecto Cuen (1858-1933) was born
to Ventura Cuen and Maria Jesus Moreno Cuen.
Yokuts relations with Mexican colonizers were similar to those of the Spanish colonizers they
had replaced. Yokuts continued to conduct raiding parties as a means of resisting colonization,
even trading stolen Mexican horses with American traders. By this means, Yokuts used the
presence of Americans in the region to further resist the Mexican military."
In 1833, an American party of fur trappers introduced an epidemic disease to the area, likely
malaria, decimating the population of Yokuts in the San Joaquin Valley.'a It is estimated that
over 20,000 Central Valley Yokuts, Miwok, Wintun, and Maidu Native Americans perished in
the epidemic.39 As recorded by Colonel J.J. Warner, who traveled through the epicenter of the
plague:
Late in the summer of 1833 we found the valleys depopulated. From the head of
the Sacramento to the great bend and slough of the San Joaquin we did not see
n Richard C. Bailey, Bakersfield: Hean afthe Golden Empire, 21
"Chris Brewer, Historic Kern County (San Antonio, TX: Lammert Publications, Inc, 2001), 9.
'h Burmeister, City Along the Kern, 1869-1969, 2.
"Akins and Bauer. 109
1° Arkush, 629.
1° "Short Overview of California Indian History," State of California Native American Heritage Commission
https://nahc.ca gov/resources/cal lforn la-indian-history/ (accessed on October 19, 2022).
10
more than six or eight live Indians... uninhabited and deserted villages had been
converted into groveyards...10
During the Mexican American War (1846-1848) and the fight for American statehood, several
Yokuts, led by Jose Jesus, joined with Americans on the side of the California Rep ublic.41
Following American victory, indigenous people signed eighteen treaties with the United States,
reserving 7.5 million acres of land. These treaties were ultimately rejected by the U.S. In turn,
over the following years, Americans systematically enslaved thousands of Native Americans
across the state through forced labor and indentured servitude. The country then moved to a
system of mission -like "temporary" reservations under the leadership of Edward F. Beale.
These reservations were limited in size to 25,000 acres and sought to instruct Native
Americans on the "benefits of work and labor" while keeping them "under federal agents and
the United States Army's watchful eye:'42 At the end of the Mexican American War, the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the United States a huge tract of land, including present-day
California.
THEMES
As there are no known extant built resources in the City of Bakersfield dating from this period,
no themes have been developed for this context.
m Frank T. Gilbert, History Olson looquin County, California (1879). 11-12, as cited in: S.F. Cook, 'The Epidemic of 1830-1833 in
California and Oregon, UniversiryolCali/ornia Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 43, no. 3(Berkeley, University
of California Press, 1955), 318.
"Akins and Bauer, 129.
12Akins and Baueq 146
CONTEXT: Settlement, the Railroad, and City Incorporation,
1849-1898
This is God's country! Someday it will be filled with happy homes. The largest
town south of Stockton will have its site here. Three or four lines of railroads will
come through the mountain passes and center here. This place is rich in future
possibilities.4'
Col. Thomas Baker, 1862, as remembered
by Mrs. Mary Ellen Baker Tracy,
Bakersfield Morning Echo, 1904.
Early Settlement
11
The history of Bakersfield's development is inextricably linked to the Kern River, flooding, and
drought. Early settlers were drawn to Bakersfield by the rich and fertile soil, but the fickle river
would dictate lives and livelihoods.
In 1853, Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale (1822-1893) established the first of multiple
reservations on Rancho El Tejon lands at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley,
approximately thirty miles south of present-day Bakersfield. As recounted by historians Damon
B. Akins and William J. Bauer:
Tejon was a military reservation, chosen because officials believed that
restricting Yokuts to a reservation would protect Los Angeles area ranchers from
their widespread horse raids. The Yokuts were the most populous indigenous
group in California at the time of first European contact but their population
was in steep decline, and reservation life contributed to that. From
approximately fourteen thousand in 1848 the population of Yokuts fell to around
six hundred by 1880.44
In 1863, Beale purchased the Rancho El Tej6n for private use, and many Yokuts were forcibly
removed from the land. Some relocated to the Tule River Indian Reservation established in
1857 near Porterville in Tulare County, while several remained in Tej6n.41
The landscape that had sustained the Yokuts for thousands of years was also changing by the
mid to late 19th century. The removal of many Yokuts land stewards to reservations, the
encroachment of private irrigation, and a series of floods in the 1860s, all dramatically reduced
water availability in the area. The state subsequently turned over the land to agricultural and
ranching opportunities. Diminished grasslands in turn challenged the Yokuts' adaptation to the
horse over the previous century. In 1873, the Tule River Indian Reservation was moved
Richard C. Bailey, eokersfeb: Heanof the Golden Empbe (Woodland Hills, Ck Windsor Publications, Inc. 1984), 35.
Akins and Bauer, 147.
s'Our History/ Tejon Indian Tribe, https://www.tejonindiantribe,com/our-history/ (accessed on October 19, 2022): Gayton, 46.
12
approximately ten miles southeast of its original location.° Originally, the majority of the
Yokuts at the reservation were the Yaudanchi and Wikchamni tribes.°)
Permanent settlement of what would become the City of Bakersfield is generally regarded as
beginning with Christian Bohna (1805-1872), who moved his family into a hunting cabin
originally built by Thomas Fitzgerald the year prior. Bohna built a home for his family on a site
near present-day intersection of 20th and K streets. Sparrell W. Woody, another early settler
who came to Kern Island to farm, married Bonha's daughter, Sarah Louise. Other early settlers
included Robert Gilbert, John McCrary (farmer and stock raiser), Harvey K. Skiles (who planted
the first cotton in 1862), Thomas Banes (who planted the first alfalfa in 1864), Edward Tibbet,
Wesley W. Shirley, and Lewis Reeder.
The Yowlumne village of Woilu was located on a knoll where Lewis Reeder built a two-story
house; the site became known as Reeder Hill. Eventually, the house burned, and the mound
was removed when the Santa Fe Railroad was constructed through Bakersfield. As recorded by
ethnographer Frank R. Latta:
Trainloads of sandy soil were hauled from the mound to build the railroad grade in
both directions from Bakersfield. During this work many hundreds of stone mortars
and pestles and Indian burials were uncovered and scattered along the grade from
Wasco to Caliente.ae
Perhaps the most important early settler, however, was Col. Thomas Baker (1810-1872),
founder of the town of Bakersfield. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, Baker had wanderlust early on and
became one of the first settlers in Iowa. Although he had little formal schooling, he studied and
became a frontier lawyer and surveyor. Prompted by the death of his wife and gold rush fever,
Baker headed for California where he founded the town of Visalia. Baker also had political
ambitions. He served in both the California State Assembly and in the State Senate
representing Tulare and Fresno counties in the early 1860s.
Baker also served as receiver for the United States Land Office, where he became an expert in
the Swamp and Overflow Lands Act of 1857. Under the terms of this Act, brothers Joseph and
William Montgomery and two other partners were authorized to reclaim all state-owned
swamp and overflow land between Kings River Slough and Tulare Lake. They promised to build
navigable canals, and once they did, would receive rights to the land. However, the brothers'
plans were derailed, first by the great flood of December 1862, which washed away the settlers'
adobe homes, and then by drought. Col. Baker and Harvey Brown subsequently purchased the
brothers' interests. Baker then bought out Brown and secured a one-year extension from the
government.
On September 10, 1863, Baker moved his new wife to Christian Bohna's house and hired Native
Americans to help him reclaim 400,000 acres of swamp and overflow land. He built a head gate
' -Tule River Indian Reservation, historical plaque, Tule County Historical society, October 16, 1949, Internet Archive,
https //ia9028O6.us.archive.org/25/items/cvici-001688/cvicl_001688_access.lpg (accessed on October 20, 2022).
41 A large migration of Yowlumne Yokota from Bakersfield to the Reservation at the end of the nineteenth century influenced the
language at the reservation, so that the most commonly spoken dialect was Yowlumne by 1905.
°' Latta. 279.
13
on the river, a levee, and a dam. He also built a home near present-day 19th and N streets. He
farmed corn, beans, potatoes, and other crops. Baker fenced off ten acres —bounded by
present-day 17th Street, 14th Street, P Street, and M Street —and planted alfalfa for travelers
in the area. The area became known as "Baker's Field" (later revised to "Bakersfield"), and it
was the only stopping point between Visalia and Los Angeles.
Water continued to control the destiny of Bakersfield's development. After five dry winters, in
late 1867 it began raining. Then, on December 23rd, the rain stopped and the Kern River went
dry. A natural dam had formed upriver and on Christmas Eve it broke, unleashing a wall of
water between 60 and 100 feet high down the river gorge.49 The mostly adobe homes along the
riverbanks were washed away, and the flooding rerouted the Kern River to the path it holds
today.
After a second reclamation project was derailed the following year, this time by the
government, Baker pivoted and went into the real estate business. He mapped out a new town
site, with streets measuring 82.5 feet wide and avenues 115 feet wide, wider than in other city
where he had observed that horses and buggies barely had room to pass one another.5- From
his last reclamation project, Baker had retained 80 acres for a homestead and sold or donated
the rest of the land for the new city. The exact location of the townsite was determined by
General William Palmer of the U.S. Topographical Corps.
In 1866, Kern County officially broke away from Tulare County and established Havilah as its
county seat. By April 1869, the town of Bakersfield had a population of some 600." The first
stores were opened by Livermore & Chester in 1865, and by Jacoby & Co. in 1869. Other early
establishments included a photographic gallery, a blacksmith shop, a telegraph office, and a
post office. These enterprises all occupied wood, vernacular -style buildings.
In 1870, Bakersfield was resurveyed and shade trees were planted at each corner lot. Also that
year, the California State Legislature passed a bill to move the county seat from Havilah to
Bakersfield, but Governor Henry H. Height refused to sign it. The Bakersfield Club, the
forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce, ultimately sued, causing an election and subsequent
recount. The Kern County seat was officially moved to Bakersfield in February of 1874, and a
Beaux Arts -style courthouse was erected in 1876. However, Col. Baker would not live to see
the transformation; he died of typhoid in 1872.
Bakersfield officially incorporated as a city in 1873. Alexander Mills was hired as the new
municipality's first marshal. By many accounts, Mills was a testy figure who had a penchant for
airing people's dirty laundry. In order to get rid of him, Bakersfield decided to discorporate in
1876, effectively eliminating his job. For the next 22 years, the community was managed by a
citizens' council. Bakersfield ultimately reincorporated in 1898 and never looked back.
' Maynard, eokersfleld, ACentenniol Portrait, 13.
so Burmeister, City Along the Kern, 1868-1969, 7.
"Burmeister, City Along the Kern, 1868-1969, 8.
14
Early Chinese Community
Beginning in the late 1850s, Chinese laborers were being recruited to work in the Kern River
mines. By the end of 1862, Chinese were moving to Kern County in large numbers to work the
placer diggings along the river and in gulches.'' By 1870, there were 50 Chinese residents in the
City of Bakersfield, working as cooks, laundrymen, gardeners, and farm laborers. Col. Baker
employed a two Chinese residents: Choo Ly and Sue Hee. Instead of paying them in cash, Baker
gave them land upon which they developed vegetable gardens, selling their harvest in town.
Soon, the local Chinese community would become Bakersfield's main source of vegetables.
By the early 1870s, Bakersfield's Chinatown was taking shape. In its early days, it was an all -
male enclave consisting of wooden buildings along 20th Street between K and L streets. By the
1880 Census, there were 250 Chinese living in the Bakersfield township. The community now
boasted families, with Chinese workers employed as merchants, butchers, restaurateurs,
herbalists, and gamblers."
Arrival of the Railroad... in Sumner
Urban development during the 1870s and 1880s was often dictated by the railroads. Railroad
companies typically built their lines where they could get land concessions. However,
Bakersfield refused to pay to play with the railroads, and as a result the city was bypassed and
became largely isolated.
In 1874, Bakersfield got its Southern Pacific rail connection —two miles east of the town in a
place called Sumner.14 The last spike in the Los Angeles -to -San Francisco line was driven in
September of 1876, the same year Sumner opened its first post office. Sumner was a company
town of the Southern Pacific, with the railroad depot as its focal point. A business district
quickly developed along the railroad tracks near the present-day site of Sumner and Baker
streets in what is now East Bakersfield. Among the earliest stores in Sumner were Amy &
Ardizzi, Dugan & Ryan, and J.J. Murphy's store. Hotels included the Noriega, Central, Lindsay,
and Verdier. There was a saloon and dancehall on Baker Street.
In 1888, A.R. and C.D. Jackson built horse-drawn streetcar lines along Chester Avenue, 19th
Street, and Baker Street, linking downtown Bakersfield with the new sprawling Mission
Revival -style Southern Pacific Depot (730 Sumner Street), completed in 1889.11 Railroad Road
(now Truxtun Avenue) became the route for cattlemen to drive their steers to the depot for
transport throughout the country.56
Growth of the Chinese Community
The arrival of the railroad in Sumner would also increase the Chinese population in Bakersfield,
as even more Chinese laborers were recruited to help build rail infrastructure. Those who opted
se William Harland Boyd, The Chinese o(Kern County, 1857-1960, (Bakersfield, CA: Bakersfield Historical Society, 2002), 8.
s' William Harland Boyd, The Chinese o(Kern County, 1857-1960. (Bakersfield. CA: Bakersfield Historical Society, 2002), 49.
"Sumner was also known as Kern City, and then as East Bakersfield.
m Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
w Ralph Anthony Oral History, California State University, Bakersfield, October 30, 1977, 6.
15
to remain local created their own community centered on 20th Street between K and L streets
As the population of Chinatown grew during the 1880s, the enclave did not expand outward or
build upward, but rather dug cellars under their existing buildings for additional living space.
Sanborn fire insurance maps show a substantial Chinatown already established by 1885, with
dozens of stores and two Chinese laundries. The west side of 20th Street was densely
developed with small one-story shacks. Reports of illegal gambling operations run by the
Chinese were a consistent feature of local newspapers at the time.
Historically, Bakersfield's "red-light district" was located just east of Chinatown, across L Street
and adjacent to nearby saloons. By 1892, it was consolidated just north of Chinatown,
comprising nearly a quarter of a city block, centered at the southwest corner of 21St and L
streets. Historical accounts suggest that the district was quite robust in the 1880S and 1890s.
Basque Immigration
The French Basque colony established itself in Sumner in 1873, almost concurrent with the
arrival of the railroad. French Basques are identified as those coming from three French
regions: Lapurdi, Behe-Nafarro, and Zuberoa.57 While there were Basque farmers as far back as
the Spanish and Mexican periods, it was during the 1870s when a large influx came to
Bakersfield. The largest groups came to the city between 1872 and 1914.5E
Although some Basques came to California as part of the gold rush, the majority immigrated to
the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The decision to immigrate was
partially a reaction to the Spanish Carlist Wars, mandatory military service imposed by
Napoleon III, and the Industrial Revolution which lowered demand for Basque goods. As with
many immigrant populations, initial Basque immigrants were single men between the ages of
18 and 25 5B Young Basque men were often agriculturalists and herders of sheep. The Miller &
Lux Ranch and the Kern County Land Company were responsible for drawing a many Basques
to Kern County between 1870 and 1900, employing them as sheepherders and effectively
establishing a Basque pipeline to Bakersfield.6' Anglos in Bakersfield and throughout the county
viewed the Basques as interlopers, and competition for grazing space fueled many clashes,
mostly outside Bakersfield. Tensions eased somewhat by the 1880s when a severe drought
drove many of the Anglos out of the sheep business.
As described by authors Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell, the French Basque
colony in East Bakersfield started in 1873 with the construction of the Basque -owned French
Hotel. Soon there were other hotels, including the Pyrenees, Metropole, and the Noriega Hotel
and Restaurant (525 Sumner Street). Faustino Mier Noriega (1856-1922) worked for Miller &
Lux in 1882 and eventually became a foreman at one of their Kern ranches. In 1893, Noriega
"These regions are known today as Labourd, Basse-Navarre, and La Soule.
se Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell, Encyclo➢ena oflmmigration and Migration in The American West (Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006), 250.
59 Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell, Enrydopedin of Immigration and Migration in The American West (Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006), 248.
60 Jeronimo (Jeri) Echeverria,'Carifornia-Ko ostatuak: A History of California's Bazque Hotels,' (PhD Diss., North Texas State
University, 1998195.
16
and Fernando Etcheverry opened the Iberia Hotel, with 13 rooms for boarders on the second
floor and communal washrooms at either end of a long corridor.
These Basque businesses were concentrated in a one -block area between Baker and Humboldt
streets, between 19th Street and what is now Highway 178. For new Basque immigrants
arriving by train, the hotels served were known as osatuak—literally, "home away from home."
Basque hotels offered room and board, with a family -style meal held at noon and at 6p.m. They
acted as employment agencies as well as cultural and social centers for the growing
community. They also provided a place where the Basque community could play pe%te, or
handball. The handball court next to the Noriega Hotel was in constant use from 1893 until
1975, when the Kern County Basque Club built a new facility.B1 Immigrant Basque women
typically found employment as cooks and housekeepers in Basque hotels and restaurants.
Bakken and Kindell credit Basque women who worked in the hotels with being "the creators of
a Basque cultural enclave in East Bakersfield1162
In 1898, an arsonist set a fire in East Bakersfield that destroyed the entire business di5trictB3
The community soon rebuilt, and by this time Basques were working in various other
industries, such as butchery, bakery, blacksmithing, and restaurants. The present-day Pyrenees
Bakery (717 E. 21st Street),fi4 known as the Kern City French Bakery when it was founded in
1887, was both a bakery and a saloon. The Pyrenees Cafe, originally opened in 1899.
Italian Immigration
In addition to the Basques, there was also a significant influx of Italian immigrants to the city.
They were primarily from the Italian community of Lucca. These men, young and old, came
alone to seek better lives. The railroad offered many jobs and the industry was well suited to
those who did not speak English. In addition to the railroad, Bakersfield's agricultural activity
also provided a draw for these rural Italian residents. Italian -born Clementine Borsi immigrated
in 1869. He owned the Union Hotel (220 21st Street). According to author Eugene Burmeister,
Borsi raised grapes in his backyard, and Borsi and friends stomped the grapes and made wine
for the hotel."
The railroad had sparked a thriving Italian community in Sumner. Small colonies of Italians
developed around the shops and the roundhouse of the railroad. In 1876, Victory Amy, a
Frenchman, and Beneditto Ardizzi, a Swiss Italian, became partners in a mercantile firm at the
corner of Sumner and Baker streets. In addition to the store, Amy and Ardizzi loaned money to
farmers and Basques, and ran a hotel on the second floor. Amy died in 1881, and Ardizzi took on
a new partner, Louis Virgin Olcese. The latter was fluent in French and thus was able to do
business with the Basque community. In 1893, Ardizzi was appointed postmaster of Sumner.
°1 Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell, Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in The American West (Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006), 249.
u Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell, Encyclapai iaefImmigration and Migration in The American West (Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006), 249.
`s Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell, Encyclopedia of lmmlgmtion and Migration in The American West (Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006), 249.
"The bakery moved to this locatian in the 1960s. The name was changed by the second owners, Pierre and Juanita Gueydan.
as Eugene Burmeister, City Along the Kern -Bakersfield, California 1869-1969 (Bakersfield, CA, Kern Publ lsh ing House, 1969), 34.
17
In 1898, fire erupted in the old California House on H Street, spreading quickly through the
wooden buildings of Sumner. The Ardizzi & Olcese store was saved. Other merchants were not
so lucky: J.L. Depauli, received $4,000 in insurance, but A. Cuneo had no coverage and lost
everything.66 According to the Bakersfield City Directory of 1899, by the end of the 19th
century there was a substantial Italian community in the city. They owned stores, restaurants,
hotels, and saloons.67
The Latino Community68
In 1874, there was a large Latino settlement known as Panama, some seven miles south of
Bakersfield proper.69 As land was becoming more valuable for the cultivation of crops like
cotton (see below), Latino residents were pushed northward and settled in La Colonia (the
Colony), in what is now East Bakersfield. During the 1890s, the First Congregational Church of
Bakersfield began outreach with various "missions" to the communities of color in and around
Bakersfield. The Latino community was no exception. They made outreach to find protestant
Mexican preachers who would be willing to come to the area.
Cotton Comes to Bakersfield
Despite the fact that the railroad bypassed downtown Bakersfield, the town continued to grow.
San Francisco financiers James Ben, Ali Haggan, and Lloyd Tevis sent their representative, W.B.
Billy Carr, to acquire properties in Bakersfield with the intention of bringing large-scale farming
to the region. The cultivation of cotton in the San Joaquin Valley began around 1884, although
some scholars suggest the first crop of cotton may have been planted on Kern Island by Harvey
Skiles as early as 1862. As cotton cultivation increased, Chinese laborers were recruited to work
the fields, but there was still a labor shortage.
Haggin and Tevis envisioned the valley as another cotton -producing south." To that end, they
began working with agents in the southern and eastern United States to recruit African
Americans to come to Bakersfield. Due to many factors —including the collapse of
Reconstruction, the failure of the crop -lien system and resulting debt servitude, Western
boosterism, and the rise of Jim Crow —many African Americans sought new opportunities in
the West. In March 1884, the Kern County Californian noted "fifty-six colored men with three
women arrived here from Memphis, Tennessee."J1 A couple of weeks later, 200 African
Americans arrived by railroad, and were taken to Haggin's Cotton Ranch.12 This group included
significantly more women and children along with a "clergyman" and a physician.
Some newspapers reported that soon after arrival, many of the workers left the region for
other parts of the state, likely a reaction to the meager $12 per month pay they were given
"Donna Tessandori Weeks, Italians of Kern County, 39.
" Donna Tessandori Weeks, The Italians of Kern Caunfy, (Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation, 201106.
6° During this period, the local Latino community would have been comprised almost exclusively of Mexicans and Mexican Americans.
6° 110 Anniversary of satiated Juarez Mutualista Mexicans, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25x-k5 F9-cl (accessed 11.9,22),
10 There appears to be some confusion among the media and scholars as to whether the entity was HaMin and Tevis or Haggin and
Car,
"'Thursday Night., Kern County Californian, March 22, 1984, no page.
1p "Arrival of the Colored Immigrants," Kern County Californian, June 7, 1894, no page.
18
when similar work was paid at a rate of $25 to $35 per month.J3 At one point, Haggin and Tevis
intended to attract some 10,000 Blacks to work the cotton fields, but the actual number that
came was far less.J4 Still, a substantial African American community was established in
Bakersfield. In 1892, Black businessman W.H. Walker was hiring people from the South, and
helped provide work for many as domestic servants." The African American community was
quick to establish their own fraternal orders and civic clubs. In 1894, R.W. Houston, H.H. Gillem,
and A.W. Vessell established the Bakersfield Lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1905, the San Joaquin Lodge, Prince Hall Freemasonry was founded.
Great Fire of 1889
Disaster came to Bakersfield on July 7, 1889. A building fire at 20th Street and Chester Avenue
spread throughout the entire downtown business district, burning for three hours. Ironically, it
was once again water —or lack thereof —that would dictate the town's destiny. Because there
was insufficient water to fight the fire, it razed 120 buildings, rendered 1,500 people homeless,
and caused over $1,000,000 in damage. The fire destroyed 147 businesses, 44 homes, and five
hotels, including the Southern Hotel.16 The Baker adobe was also destroyed. Only a few
churches were saved, including St. Francis (17th and K streets) and St. Paul's Episcopal Church
(on the northeast corner of 17th and Eye streets). Scribner's Water Tower (on the southeast
corner of 17th Street and Chester Avenue) was also saved.
Prior to the fire, Bakersfield resembled a western town filled with vernacular wooden buildings.
The rebuilding effort now focused on fire-resistant brick buildings. The first Southern Hotel
had been something out of the Old West. The new Southern Hotel (19th Street and Chester
Avenue) was a lavish wood and brick structure of 84 rooms with hot and cold running water.
The Victorian -style edifice featured turrets and spires, evoking San Francisco.
The Great Fire of 1889 had no effect on Sumner. By 1892, Sumner had blossomed into a large
company town, with a passenger depot, a freight depot, and several hotels, all located south of
the railroad tracks. There was also a four -block commercial district with its own red-light
district of saloons and houses of prostitution. This commercial district was bounded by the
present-day Union Pacific railroad yard on the north, E. 19th Street to the south, King Street to
the east, and Kern Street to the west. North of the railroad tracks, there were several blocks of
residential development consisting of small bungalows or homes along present-day Jackson
and Kentucky streets between Tulare Street and Beale Avenue. By 1899, Sumner was listed as
"Kern City" on Sanborn fire insurance maps and enjoyed a population of some 1,600. By
comparison, Bakersfield at this time had some 5,500 residents.
In 1898, Bakersfield finally got its own railroad line: the San Francisco and San Joaquin Railroad
brought its tracks from the north into the city proper. A $10,000 depot was built on the site of
the Southern Methodist Church, which was moved to another location.)7 Against this backdrop,
"Gilbert Peter Gia, Race, Spores and Black Unity: 1875-1988, (Bakersfield, CA: Gilbert Peter Gia, 2019), 12.
14 Gilbert Peter Gia, Race, Sports and Black Unity: 1875-1988, (Bakersfield, CA: Gilbert Peter Gia, 2019), 14.
"•Notice to the Public,' Daily Californian, May 7, 1892, no page.
'6 Maynard, Bakersfield, A Centennial Portrait, 31.
"Burmeister, City Along the Kern 1869-1969, 22,
19
Bakersfield developed its early institutions, commercial district, industries, and residential
neighborhoods.
It had taken almost forty years for Bakersfield to realize the potential that Col. Thomas Baker
envisioned for the place. It was now ready to leave the 19th century behind and step firmly into
the 20th century. "Black gold" and "white gold" would lead the way.
THEMES
THEME: Pre -Incorporation Civic and Institutional Development
The county courthouse, schools, and houses of worship were among the first civic and
institutional buildings erected during this period. The Kern County Courthouse (Chester
Avenue between 16th Street and present-day Truxton Avenue) was an elaborate structure. Its
location a few blocks south of downtown saved it from burning down in the Great Fire of 1889.
The Kern Island School District was founded in February 1867. Seventeen students attended
during the 1867-68 school year." By 1888, Bakersfield had its first public school, Railroad
Avenue School (south side of Railroad Avenue between K and L streets). The four -room,
Italianate-style building was constructed in 1871 On May 3, 1882, the Kern Island School
District was renamed Bakersfield School District. The average daily attendance was 100
students"In July of 1892, Bakersfield's second public school was under construction in the
northwest part of town. H Street School (between 21st and 22nd streets) was larger than
Railroad Avenue School.
These schools were for younger children. There was no high school, and typically farm families
expected their children to work in the fields as they approached adulthood. Alfred M. Harrell
brought high school to Bakersfield for the first time in 1893, in two rooms on the second floor
of Railroad Avenue School. In 1895, "Kaycee Hi" (for Kern County High School) moved to its
own new building in the center of Elm Grove, the present-day site of the Bakersfield High
School campus.
Religious organizations were building their first houses of worship during this period. The
Methodist Episcopal Church (southeast corner of present-day Truxton Avenue and H Street)
was built in the Spring of 1874. The first Catholic mass in Bakersfield was held in 1871 in the
rear of Gates Store on 19th Street between Chester Avenue and K Street; services continued
in that location for years 81 The first purpose-built Catholic Church was completed in 1882 at
17th and K streets. St. Paul's Episcopal Church was founded in 1879; services were held at
Railroad Avenue School until a dedicated church building was constructed in 1886 at 17th and
Eye streets. The First Baptist Church was established in 1889 and met at George Wear's Opera
House until services were moved to the courthouse. In 1889-90, a purpose-built church was
built at 22nd and Eye streets.
ra Burmeister, City Along the Kern 1869-1969, 31.
° It was damaged in the 1952 earthquake and demolished to make way for the Civic Center,
B0 Burmeister, City Along the Kern 1869-1969, 33,
''Donna Tessandon Weeks suggests that these locations also served the Italian immigrants, who were primarily Catholic
20
To serve the city's African American population, the Cain African Methodist Church was
organized in 1884; services were held at the corner of Sumner Street and Union Avenue until a
dedicated church was constructed at California and O streets. The Second Baptist Church
(a.k.a., Colored Baptist Church) was founded in 1892.
The first joss house (Chinese temple) was built during the 1870s in the middle of a strawberry
patch across Kern Island Canal from the Kern River Mill, where 17th Street runs today.
According to author Eugene Burmeister, it was a one-story structure of rough unpainted
lumber, 16 feet wide and 20 feet deep with a front porch, two small single -paned windows, and
a Chinese-style peaked roof.82 Sanborn fire insurance maps reveal the location of several Joss
Houses in Chinatown through the years. A March 1889 Sanborn map shows a Joss House at
the northeast corner of 10th and K streets and remained in this location through 1892.
One of the earliest doctors in Bakersfield was Dr. Lewis S. Rogers (c. 1835-1914), who resided
in the city around 1870. In 1876, the G Street Hospital was built and managed by Dr. Henry S.
Bachman, who became County Physician. In 1895, the County purchased six acres at 19th and
Oak streets and built a 40-bed gabled -roofed hospital building.
Bakersfield also developed clubs and institutions early on. By 1888, the Masonic Lodge
operated out of a small space near the northeast corner of 19th Street and Chester Avenue.
The Woman's Club of Bakersfield was organized on March 2nd, 1896 in a meeting at the
Southern Hotel. By the following year, they had 125 members." Club meetings were scheduled
in the parlors of the Southern Hotel, the Odd Fellows Hall, the Episcopal Church, and other
locations. The Woman's Club was instrumental in bringing about the re -incorporation of the
city in 1898, the establishment of the first public library and reading room, and the first free
kindergarten.
THEME: Pre -Incorporation Commercial Development
As previously mentioned, early Bakersfield looked like an old western town, composed of
vernacular wooden buildings. Unlike many cities, whose center was at First and Main streets,
Bakersfield's primary commercial corridor was 19th Street between Chester Avenue and L
Street. This established a pattern of development for downtown that affected decades of
commercial development throughout the 20th century. A Sanborn map from 1885 indicates
that the city was largely commercial in nature, with very few residences in the downtown
area —recalling the city's essentially rural agricultural roots.
By 1885, Bakersfield had four hotels: the Arlington Hotel (southeast corner of 19th Street and
Chester Avenue); the Montrose Hotel (18th Street between Chester Avenue and K Street); the
S.T. Jones Hotel (19th Street between K and L streets); and the French Hotel (southwest
corner of 19th Street and Chester Avenue). 19th Street was home to several general
merchandise stores. Several saloons were located on 19th Street, north of L Street. The small
Kern County Bank (northwest corner of 18th Street and Chester Avenue) was the first bank in
the city. Horse -related businesses —including carriage repair shops, saddleries, and stables —
Burmeister, City Along The Kern- Bakersfield, 3T
°1 "Woman's Club History Told,-Bokersfeld Morning Echo, March 9, 1924, 7.
21
were scattered throughout the community. By 1888, entertainment and recreational
opportunities included a skating rink, a bowling alley, and Wear's Opera House.
In 1889, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. returned to Bakersfield to map the city's growth,
manifest as both increasing density and geographical expansion north and south of downtown.
Fortunately, the company mapped the city in March 1889, just five months before the city
would be razed by the Great Fire of 1889. This document offers a picture of early Bakersfield as
a thriving Central Valley city.
THEME: Pre -Incorporation Industrial Development
Infrastructure helped drive industrial development in Bakersfield. In 1883, the Bakersfield
Water Company began operating the town's first water system, including an octagonal water
storage tower at 17th Street and Chester Avenue. In 1889, the first public gas lighting appeared
in Bakersfield. The following year, the first electric lighting in Bakersfield was produced in 1890
in a plant built by the Bakersfield Gas Company.
The first industrial development appears on Bakersfield Sanborn maps in 1888. The northeast
corner of 20th and M streets had the former City Brewery that had become a bottling works.
Denver's Carriage Factory (southeast corner of 18th and K streets) was no longer operational
by 1888. The following year, the Kern River Flour Mill was built along Railroad Road (present-
day Truxton Avenue). By 1888-89, what was now known as Kern City was also home to the
Sumner Grain, Bailed Hay and General Merchandise warehouse.
Another important industrial property in the city was the Bakersfield Sandstone Brick Co. (E.
18th Street and Sonora Street). Formed in 1886 by James Curran, it was originally located on
forty acres. The facility included a lumber planing building (on Sonora Street between Eureka
Street and Truxtun Avenue) and other buildings. During the 1920s, the planing mill burned
down but other buildings were not affected. The company originally manufactured common
red brick, using clay mud that was first sun-dried and then kiln -fired. After a few years, the
company started manufacturing sandstone brick, which involved a special machine that
compressed the sand and lime and cooked in steam kettles. For many years, all brick used for
building in Bakersfield was from the Bakersfield Sandstone Brick Co. The Beale Clock Tower
was one prominent structure that used the sandstone brick. The company continued to
manufacture sandstone brick until World War I, when getting replacement parts for the
European -made compressing machine became impossible. ea
THEME: Pre -Incorporation Residential Development
Between 1885 and 1888, the town roughly doubled its geographic footprint —mostly growing in
a southerly direction. This period marks a transition in the community's development, slowly
evolving from a rather isolated commercial downtown into more of a residential community. In
1885, the number of dwellings appearing on Sanborn maps is minimal, suggesting that most of
the people who lived in town were the local merchants and shopkeepers and the large Chinese
community. Three years later, the town had added a number or additional dwellings to the
°0 Extant brick made by the Bakersfield sandstone Brick Company is quite rare because the 1952 earthquake reduced most of
Bakersfield's brick buildings to rubble.
22
north and south. After Col. Baker's death, his widow married Ferdinand August Tracy and they
built a grand Victorian -style house (22nd and O streets). The residence survived the Great Fire
of 1889, only to succumb to another blaze in 1949. The Jastro Residence (181120th Street) is a
rare extant example of early residential development in the downtown area of the city.a'
By 1892, Bakersfield had grown in virtually all directions. However, the majority of the
residential growth was to the west and south of the downtown. New residences tended to be
large Victorian -style homes centered on large parcels, with as few as four homes on a city
block. Residential development to the south and east of the downtown was denser, with
smaller -sized houses.
Between 1892 and 1899, residential growth in the southeastern portion of Bakersfield
continued apace. Not only did residential densities increase, but the area devoted to residential
development expanded, with houses now located as far west as D Street and as far south as
15th Street, along which the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad had laid their
tracks. Additional residential development was added in the northwestern portion of the city,
reaching as far as F Street. During this same period, residential development in Kern City grew
substantially in the area north of the railroad tracks. While individual houses remained modest
in size, overall residential densities increased significantly.
" Listed on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places in 2005.
23
CONTEXT: The Great Oil Rush and Agricultural Boom,1899-
1928
Bakersfield has changed from the days of the frontier settlement, with its happy-
go-lucky cowboys and miners tying their ponies to battered hitching posts while
cattle roamed the plains. Today she stands a hustling, bustling modern city with
wide paved streets and sidewalks miles of shade trees and lawns, beautiful
homes, roses galore, business structures of pleasing architecture, schools and
churches of the type made famous by California, fully equipped playgrounds
where young America develops, swimming and wading pools, golf courses, civic
and service clubs, and fraternal organizations, business and women clubs,
factories, railroads, new modern hotels, a county library of over 200,000 volumes
and with two city branches, and all the things making life so worthwhile."
Bakersfield City Directory, 1929.
During the 19th century, Bakersfield was on a steady path of moderate growth. However,
towards the end of that century, the city found itself economically transformed by the
discovery of oil and its impact on the nascent agriculture industry in Kern County. The
foundations of "oil and ag" as the underpinnings of the city's economy brought wealth,
population growth, development, and the economic stability that would support the city for the
better part of the 20th century. The wealth of companies like the Kern County Land Company
can be seen in their office building (171219th Street).87
The first signs of oil were discovered on the west side of Bakersfield near McKittrick and Taft.
Initially, the oil was not the star. Rather, people mined the sands for asphalt and the area earned
the name, "Asphalto." In May of 1889, however, James and Jonathan Ellwood struck oil on the
property of Tom Means. This was the first discovery of the Kern River Oil Field and the first
time a large supply of oil was found close to a rail line that led to San Francisco.88 Clusters of
tents and shacks quickly appeared in the hills and along the riverbank.
In less than two years, Bakersfield was a certifiable boomtown. By June 1901, the Bakersfield
Californian reported there were more than 500 wells in the Kern River Oil Field and 100 more in
process. The fields were yielding 12,000 barrels per day.89 By 1900, the city directory listed 95
separate oil companies90 The price of farmland sky -rocketed due to its oil producing potential.
By 1904, the Kern River Oil Field produced more than any other field in California-17.5 million
barrels. This caused a glut and oil prices dropped, driving some small firms out of business. In
1904, they banded together to form the Independent Oil Producers Agency.91
a 1929 Bakersfield City Directory, 12.
"Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
88 John Maynard, Bakersfield, ACentennial Portrait, 38.
°9 John Maynard, Bokerstaid, ACentennial Portrait, 39.
9° City Directory, 1910, 152-3.
9' Richard C. Bailey, Bakersfield. Heart ofthe Golden Empire, 78,
24
From 1900 to 1910, Bakersfield's population tripled from 4,836 to 12,727. And by 1908,
Bakersfield was the recognized center of the California oil industry.92 Bakersfield became the
business center of the oil industry and people and money flowed into the city at an accelerated
rate fueling the construction of beautiful homes and impressive commercial and public
buildings. The Southern Hotel became the "nerve center for the nascent industry."91
Figure 1. Bakersfield Population Growth 1890-1920
1890 2,626 N/A
1900 4,836 84.2%
1910 12,727 163.2%
1920 18,638 46.4%
Source: U.S. Census
Chinatown and the Tenderloin
During the first decade of the 20th century, Bakersfield was struggling with its identity, as it
was part Wild West and part new west. An influx of oil workers fueled the city's vice industry.
Sanborn maps dating from 1899 show there were effectively two Chinatowns in Bakersfield.
Stores and lodging lined the north and south sides of 20th Street between K and L streets. An
additional, less dense block of Chinese development appears between 21st and 22nd streets, M
and L streets. This was also the site of two Joss Houses (Chinese temples). The vast majority of
the Chinese in Chinatown were day laborers in agriculture. Another area of Chinese
concentration was in the block bordered by 18th and 17th streets, R and Q streets, where a
Sanborn map surveyor identified a number of Chinese shanties.
In August 1889, Dr. Lewis S. Rogers, Bakersfield's first physician, who was friendly to the
Chinese, constructed a building for eight businesses and nearby property was purchased by
Chinese. Leong Yen opened one of the first groceries in New Chinatown. Din Toy sold Chinese
and American groceries and opened a restaurant. New Chinatown attracted Chinese with
different dialects than in Old Chinatown. Families who migrated to New Chinatown included
the Leong Gee Ping, Jung Sing, Jung Wong Chee, Sam Yick, and Jung Chut families.94
Both Chinatowns had an unofficial mayor who could speak English, navigate the non -Chinese
world around Chinatown, and settle disputes within the community. These liaisons to and
within the Chinese community included Choo Li (a.k.a, Choo Ly), Sam Yick, Sam Yop, and Say
Yup.
n John Maynard, Bakersfield, A Centennial Portrait, 44.
Richard C. Bailey, Bak.feld: Heart of the Golden Empire, 78
°' wills. Harland Boyd, The Chinese o/Kern County, 1857-1960, 66.
2s
Map of two Chinatowns in downtown Bakersfield. (The Chinese of
Kern County, 1857-1960)
The area in and around Chinatown had long flourished as a red-light district offering liquor,
gambling, prostitution, and drugs. At the turn of the century, the boomtown that Bakersfield
had become from the discovery of oil filled the town with overnight millionaires, big money
speculators, and an army of single male oil workers looking for recreation. Matters frequently
turned violent, with robberies, beatings, and deaths becoming commonplace.
By 1904, the tenderloin was bounded by 22nd and 19th streets, between M and L street. This
area included a dozen different dance halls, including Big Berthas, numerous saloons, gambling
houses, cribs for prostitution, and opium dens, often in the basements of legitimate businesses.
Patronage of these establishments actually interfered with oil production, as crews were often
unable to work after a weekend in Bakersfield."s
One of the most notorious incidents was the shooting of James McKinney in 1903. McKinney —
known as the "Last Badman" or "Last of the Outlaws" —was a violent drunkard responsible for
shooting several men in several states. His chief skill was marksmanship, and McKinney did odd
jobs and worked security to earn money for his drinking and gambling. He lived in Visalia,
frequented Bakersfield, and served time in San Quentin prison. But mostly, he evaded the law
after he gruesomely shot two men in Arizona. However, a reward was offered for McKinney
and a series of possies tracked him to Bakersfield where he was hiding in a Joss House on L
Street. On April 19, 1903, vigilantes, in concert with local Bakersfield sheriffs, raided the room
where McKinney was hiding and shot him. McKinney would not go down without a fight. Two
deputies were killed and numerous others wounded.
95 Joseph E. Doctor, Shotguns on Sunday. The True Story ofthe West's Last Badman Westernfore Gress (Bakersfield, CA: Brewer -
Pipkin Publications, 1998), 27,
I ..... _.. :.I I _I t I I....,.,
26
The incident propelled the town into regional and national news as a vice -filled, lawless place
and was, thereafter, regarded by many as bringing to a close the Old West's outlaw tradition 9B
In the aftermath, the citizens of Bakersfield instituted a reform movement. Officials raided
eight to ten Chinese places suspected of dealing in gambling, prostitution, or opium. They
served notice to non -Chinese drug lords to clean up or suffer consequences. Every social, civic,
and business organization backed reform efforts. As a result, "the worst offenders sought more
convivial surroundings elsewhere and night life in the tenderloin became less frantiC."97
While Bakersfield's red-light district continued to thrive well into the 1930s, it ceased to be the
violent Wild West version of itself. Even the horses were officially replaced in 1901 when the
Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway was established.
Fire of 1904
On September 7, 1904, Bakersfield experienced another large fire that burned down three city
blocks. Ironically, the fire was started by a drunken man who laid down in a storage shed behind
a fire station. The man fell asleep while smoking a cigar and the blaze grew rapidly out of
control. The fire consumed most of Chinatown, reducing the buildings north of what was then
termed "Jap Alley" —south of loth Street, between K and L streets —to rubble.98 While some
non -Japanese business owners were affected, it was the Chinese community that took the
hardest hit. The merchant, Choo Li, dubbed "the richest Chinaman in the city" by the Stockton
Independent, lost property valued at $15,000 (almost $400,000 in today's dollars).99
Chao Li (c. 1836-1908) came to Bakersfield in 1872. At the time of his death in 1908, he was
Bakersfield's oldest Chinese resident, and as such, was often called -upon to settle disputes
within the Chinese community. His funeral was a lavish affair with a procession including a
marching band, a Chinese cavalry of six mounted marshals and a hearse. More than 1,000 non -
Chinese attended the procession and funeral and it received page-one coverage in the
Bakersfield Californian. At the time of his passing, his estate was estimated at $40,000 in cash
and property along 20th Street."' Li's body was ultimately shipped back to Hong Kong for
burial.
Other known merchants in Chinatown during this period included Chow Yee, a restaurant
owner, Wan Low, Charley Leow, Leong Sow, Chung Gee, and Foo Chu. The vast majority of
Chinese living in Chinatown was composed of male day or farm laborers. A very few were
employed as cooks in private homes or as laundrymen. During this period there were
approximately 450 Chinese males living in and around Chinatown.'°'
After the 1904 fire, many Chinese began to rebuild on less valuable land to the north between L
and M streets and between 20th and 22nd streets. By October, Sue Hee, an early employee of
Col. Baker, was constructing a row of small wood -frame buildings for business purposes along
96 Joseph E. Doctor, Shotguns on Sunday, 13,
91 Joseph E. Doctor, Shotguns on Sunday, 205.
9°'Bakersfield in Ashes and Two Lives Lost," Stockton Indepandent, September 8, 1904, 1.
°9'Bakersfield in Ashes and Two Lives Lost,' Stockton Independent, September 8, 1904, 1.
1,000 Curious Americans Saw Chao Lps Funeral," Bakersfield Californian, August 24, 1908, 1.
°1 Based on counting individuals born in China as enumerated in the 1900 U.S. Census for the township of Bakersfield.
27
what would become known as "China Alley" between L and M streets, 21st and 22nd streets.10'
The site of China Alley is currently marked by a commemorative plaque.
Many Bakersfield Chinese were farmers. Yen Ming was known as the Chinese Potato King of
Kern County. He operated Ming Ranch. During the teens, Ming received $10,000 for his potato
crop —making him one of the richest men in Bakersfield. Jim Chow Dai had a farm on land that
was later used for Central Park. Many of these farmers were also truck farmers —taking their
produce to sell in Los Angeles during the 1920s and 1930s. Still other Chinese in the
community had related businesses in trucking; Jung Sun Joke formed C&J Trucking.103
In addition to the two Chinatowns in the downtown area, 1910 Sanborn maps reveal the
presence of a series of "Chinese and Mexican bunkhouses and kitchens" housing railroad
workers just south of the tracks on the north side of Sumner Street, just east of Beale Street, in
present-day East Bakersfield. Bakersfield's Chinese developed a number of community
institutions, including the Ying On Association (2110 L Street), a benevolent association to help
obtain jobs; and the Bin Kong Tong, a collective banking association at a time when other
institutions would not loan money to the Chinese.
Ying On Association, 1929. (The Chinese of Kern County,
1857-1960)
Quest for Respectability
During the late 19th century, Japanese residents were slowly creating a presence in Bakersfield.
After the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese men began immigrating to California to fill
the jobs once occupied by Chinese. The Japanese newcomers, numbering approximately a
dozen, appear to have found rooms along "Jap Alley" between K and L streets, and 18th and
19th streets.10' They were all day laborers and farm workers. Additional Japanese farm workers
William Harland Boyd, The Chinese of Kern County, 1857-1960, 50,
William Harland Boyd, The Chinese of Kern County, 1857-1960, 96.
'0' Based on the location of gap Alley described in the 1926 Bakersfield City Directory
28
may have lived in the fields and more rural areas around the city, as it was a frequent practice to
build small, vernacular structures near the fields in which they worked.
Along with reform efforts inspired by the McKinney incident and ongoing population growth,
there came a rise in social and civic organizations and an expansion of religious organizations.
On January 17, 1900, the cornerstone was laid for the Woman's Club Hall of Bakersfield at 1600
H Street. This early, purpose-built building was a significant achievement for the group that
was founded in 1896 at the Southern Hotel by eighteen women. Early on, the Club focused
mostly on arts and cultural activities, but gradually stepped into "civics" related arenas.
One of the early campaigns of the Woman's Club was a 1912 resolution against the removal of
Beale Tower from the middle of Chester Avenue. In 1904, Truxtun Beale had erected an iconic
64-foot, Moorish -influenced clock tower on Chester Avenue, designed by Clinton Day of San
Francisco, in honor of his mother. The Beales were early philanthropists in the city. In addition
to the tower, Mary E. Beale and her son, Truxtun, financed the first purpose-built library
building, Beale Memorial Library, at Chester Avenue and 17th Street in memory of General
Edward (Ned) F. Beale (1822-1893). The elder Beale was a figure of national and international
importance. He was a naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs
superintendent, California rancher, and diplomat. As previously mentioned, it was the elder
Beale that urged the U.S. Government, as California's first Superintendent of Indian Affairs, to
build Ft. Tejon. Beale had purchased the Mexican land grants that comprise the 270,000-acre
Tejon Ranch. Truxtun Beale (1856-1936) trained as a lawyer, but was a diplomat who also ran
the Tejon Ranch upon his father's passing. Railroad Road was eventually renamed Truxtun
Avenue in his honor.
By the late 1910s, the Woman's Club outgrew their clubhouse. In September of 1920, the
women sold the facility to the Jewish Congregation of B'nai Jacob of Kern County to be their
house of worship. On November 1921, a new Woman's Club of Bakersfield, designed by Charles
H. Biggar, opened at 1806 D Street 305 The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.T.C.U) of
Kern County was founded in 1891. They met in members' homes or at churches, such as the
First Methodist Episcopal Church or First Baptist Church. Given Bakersfield's tenderloin
district, the club was a popular one among the city's women.
In April of 1917, the Bakersfield Chapter of the American Red Cross was established. Canteen
service was a big part of their war effort, as thousands of soldiers passed through the region on
troop trains routed over the Tehachapi Pass during world War I. The Red Cross provided
snacks, food, and leisure articles from kiosks (a.k.a., canteen activity) at the Southern Pacific
Depot in East Bakersfield, The Bakersfield Red Cross also provided care for those taken ill
during the Spanish Flu epidemic, staffing pop-up care facilities during the worst of the
pandemic. By 1918, a Bakersfield American Red Cross Negro Chapter had also been
established 10' This specialized chapter also provided canteen/snacks and was "the only group
'05 The alternate address of 203018th Street was also used for the Woman's Club of Bakersfield. Listed on the Bakersfield Register
of Historic Places in 1991, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
J. Garth Ailam.'Plague in the Boomtowns: The Spanish Influenza in Bakersfield and Kern County, 1918-1920; Masters in
History; California State University of Bakersfield, Fall 2012, 62.
29
of colored canteen corps of workers in the country... Bakersfield was the lone city that took care
to see that the country's colored soldiers were cared for by members of their own race "'p'
r I
The Woman's Club of Bakersfield
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Advertisement for the Woman's Club of Bakersfield,
1921.(CSUS)
Pearl Lowrey came to Bakersfield around 1910, joined Mt. Zion Church, and became
Bakersfield's resident reporter for the California Eagle, an African American newspaper in Los
Angeles. She headed the Golden West Colored Woman's Club, bringing many early speakers on
women's rights and civil rights.
In addition to women's civic groups, their male counterparts continued to be active early in the
century and to experience membership growth. Virtually all of them formed building
committees including the Knights of Pythias, the Elks Club, the International Order of Odd
Fellows (I.O.O.F), and the Bakersfield Club. Population growth in East Bakersfield fueled the
establishment of new chapters of familiar organizations such as the Caledonia Masonic Lodge.
Many of these clubhouse buildings did not come to fruition until the 1920s. These social -civic
organizations engaged prominent local architects to build large, multi -story edifices. The first
two decades of the 20th century represented a golden age of civic clubs in the city.
in "Canteen Close Career With Luncheoi Bakersfield Morning Echo, November 22,1919, no page.
30
African American fraternal organizations in Bakersfield continued to congregate during this
period, with Bakersfield becoming an early hub of civil rights activity. The city was the site of
the assembly of delegates of the Afro American Congress in 1902 and the California
convention of the Afro American League in 1912. The Colored Citizens League of Kern County
was founded in 1912.
Religious institutions flourished in the city during this period as well. In 1915, a group of
Bakersfield's Jewish citizens gathered in a home to establish the first Jewish congregation in
Kern County. Just five years later, they purchased the former Woman's Club at 16th and H
streets as their new house of worship. The congregation had previously met in the Knights of
Pythias Woddmen's Hall and other buildings associated with fraternal organizations. Early
religious and civic contributors included Oscar Rudnick, Alphonse Weill, Morris Himovitz, Sam
Orloff, Max Himovitz, Fred Mooney. and L. Rubin.
Many religious denominations experienced growing congregations at this time that exceeded
capacity of their existing facilities. By 1916, there were 23 houses of worship in the city.108 Many
of these institutions built new church buildings during the early decades of the 20th century,
and many of these buildings were designed by Bakersfield's foremost architects.
The diverse but segregated communities of Bakersfield are represented in their church
congregations. In 1909, Reverend Uchida of San Francisco and Reverend Kino of Fresno
established a Japanese Buddhist mission at the corner of M and 22nd streets with a
membership of about 70.109 The Japanese Buddhist Temple (2207 N Street) also served the
community.1' By 1929, the small Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church (101622nd Street) had
also be founded.
Churches catering to the African American population included the Cain African Methodist
Episcopal Church (1001 California Avenue), the Second Baptist Church (90013th Street), and
the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (815 Fremont Street/present-day E. 18th Street).
These churches were the recognized centers for political and social activity between 1910 and
1930.11'
In 1925, Father A.C. Stuhlmann established a Spanish -Mexican Mission for Our Lady of
Guadalupe Church and a church building was constructed in East Bakersfield near California
Avenue and Baker Street. Over time, a parish school, grotto, and recreation hall were
constructed (601 E. California)."' By 1929, a Mexican Evangelical Church (415 Fremont
Street/present-day E. 18th Street) was established. A Chinese Mission (1010 O Street) was
established as early as 1921, offering services and Sunday school in both English and Chinese.
Reverend Leang and Miss H.F. Buss presided over the instruction.113
... Bakersfield City Directory, 1916, 38,
1p' "laps Establish Buddhist Mission,' Bakersfield Cali/ornian, April 19,1909,11
t0 Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (no date).
Gilbert Peter Goa, Race, Sports and Black Unity: 1875-1988, (Bakersfield, CA: Gilbert Peter Gia, 2019). 23.
" In 1939, Father Stuhlmann was called to another parish. He was succeeded by Father Joseph Losada who remained there for
five years, and was succeeded by Father Silvana Baquedano.
"'"Chi nese Mission/ Bakersfield Morning Echo, March 12, 1921, 8.
31
Significant population growth during the first two decades of the 20th century had real
repercussions for the Kern County School District, resulting in the near -constant expansion of
existing schools and construction of new schools. During these years, Emerson School (1313
Truxtun Avenue), Lowell School (loth and H streets), and Bryant School (21st and H streets)
seemed to be in a continual state of expansion. Population growth in East Bakersfield was
cause for school construction there. Another important factor was the national educational
trend toward vocational training, which often required non-traditional classroom settings as
students learned trades and domestic science.
During this period, there were several major bond issues to fund projects for the school district,
including a $90,000 bond issue in 1917, a $300,000 bond issue in 1920, and a $350,000 bond
issue in 1925. The school district then awarded these projects, large and small, to a cadre of
talented Bakersfield architects, including J.M. Saffell, Orville L. Clark, and Thomas B. Wiseman.
During the 1920s, local architect Charles H. Biggar was integrated into the mix. Most of the
schools constructed during this period were wood -frame and brick.
Clarence CUllimore, Sr., Architectural Educator
School expansion and national trends toward vocational education would ultimately draw to
Bakersfield a young man that would have a profound influence on the architecture of
Bakersfield and beyond. In 1910, a dashing young graduate from the University of California
arrived in dusty Bakersfield for his first job, as the teacher of freehand and mechanical drawing
at Kern County High School. Havingjust completed a rigorous Beaux Arts education in
architecture at the University of California in Berkeley, the idealistic 25-year-old Clarence C.
Cullimore (1885-1963) seized the opportunity. Over the next forty years, Cullimore trained a
cadre of young architects who would go one to populate the architectural programs of
prestigious universities and ultimately shape the built environment of Bakersfield and beyond.
Cullimore's architecture program went far beyond the mechanical drafting requirements of
vocational education. It was just the second true architectural design program in California,
after Los Angeles' Polytechnic High School. It was also unique in that most architectural
training at the time was exclusively a collegiate affair. During his decades at Kern County High
School, Cullimore nurtured architectural talent that would go onto study architecture at Ivy
League and other prestigious schools, including the University of California, Berkeley and the
University of Southern California (USC).
Unlike his own traditional Beaux-Arts training in the atelier of John Galen Howard —which
focused on drawing the Classical orders and designing projects for old-world problems—
Cullimore established a pragmatic and practical pedagogy for the Kern County High School
students. They were given contemporary building typologies, programs, and budgets as
parameters for design projects. Cullimore wrote his own drafting textbook, Elementary Courses
in High School Drafting, which was adopted as a supplementary text for students at the
University of California, Berkeley in 1922 and reprinted by a San Francisco publishing house the
following year for wider distribution. Cullimore also nurtured his budding talent by creating an
annual Student Architectural Association (SAA) design competition open to Kern County High
32
School and Bakersfield College students with a perpetual trophy cup. The names that appear
on the cup comprise a veritable Who's Who of Bakersfield architects.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Cullimore produced 20 future American Institute of
Architects (AIA) members. By 1939, there were more graduates of the USC School of
Architecture working in Bakersfield than any other city except Los Angeles.
"Bungalow Town"
During this period, Bakersfield significantly expanded its footprint in all directions, growing
outward from downtown. By 1905, there was significant development south of the railroad
tracks extending as far as Dracena Street. By that same year, buildings extended roughly to
28th Street to the north and Cedar Street to the west, with commercial development creeping
eastward toward Union Avenue. Just seven years later, in 1912, Sanborn maps show
development extending north to 31st Street, east to Union Avenue, and west to Spruce Street.
East Bakersfield grew exponentially during this period, more than quadrupling its footprint. By
1912, development reached Main Street to the north, Dolores Street to the south, Virginia
Street to the east, and Union Avenue to the west. What were one two separate burgs were
now one solid mass, holding its first consolidated city election in July of 1910. Results included
the paving of 19th Street, thus connecting the two business centers of the now combined City
of Bakersfield.
In 1910, the Bakersfield Californian reported that industrial and wholesale businesses were
"...moving northward on Chester Avenue," retailers were swooping into occupy vacated blocks,
expanding the commercial footprint of downtown.114 The residential construction boom in
Bakersfield during the oughts and teens, was chiefly composed of Craftsman -style California
bungalows. A Californian headline read "Bungalow Town to Be Realized."":
The proliferation of the ubiquitous California bungalow was fed in part by the rise of "kit
homes." As the name implies, individuals could purchase a building site and order a kit house
from a mail-order catalog, such as Sears & Roebuck Co., to be delivered by rail. A typical kit
included some 12,000 pre-cut pieces and an instruction manual for the assembly of a modest
yet complete single-family residence. Kit homes were popular with middle and working class
families during this period.
Michigan -based Aladdin Homes, started by brothers William and Otto Sovereign in 1906, was a
pioneer in pre-cut kit homes. Pacific Ready Cut Homes dominated the market in the west.
Between 1908 and 1940 they sold 37,000 read -cut, ready -to -assemble homes from 1,800 plans.
Plans were mostly one-story bungalows, but they also offered plans for 2-story houses,
duplexes, bungalow courts, apartment houses, hotels, gas stations, and offices. The Los
Angeles -based Bungalowcraft Co. advertised extensively in the Bakersfield Morning Echo. In
the early 1920s, Pacific Ready Cut established a showroom in Bakersfield (1826 G Street). The
kit homes movement lasted well into the 1920s—all through the boom years of Bakersfield.
"'Retailers Seek Good Location," Bakersfield Californian, April 7, 1910, 11.
"''Much Building This Fall,' Bakersfield Californian, July 11, 1911, 7.
33
Local builders who specialized in bungalows and cottages included Dave Hirshfield and F.H.
Leifitz.
In 1910, some 500 homes were built in Bakersfield proper; 195 new buildings were constructed
in East Bakersfield"' Areas of greatest development included along Orange Street; along 18th
and 19th streets west of F Street; and more generally on the west side of town, where homes
costing as much as $20,000 were erected."' In 1915, a large tract east of downtown was
developed as the Homaker Park Tract. Centered around of 31st and Q streets, developers led
by C.L. Clafin offered "pretty bungalow lots" with the option of having C.W. Newbery build the
bungalow.
Deed Restrictions and Racial Covenants
In the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, private developers participated in institutionalized racism by
attaching restrictive covenants to their new residential developments. Restrictive covenants
were legal clauses written into property deeds dictating that a property owner could only sell or
rent a property to "Caucasians," otherwise the owner could lose the property. In some
covenants, the excluded groups were mentioned by name, and invariably included "African
Americans, Mexicans, Asians, and Jews" A typical covenant lasted for 20 to 50 years."' Local,
state, and federal jurisdictions all became involved in promoting and enforcing restrictive
covenants. Restrictive covenants were challenged in the California and U.S. Supreme Courts in
1919 and 1926, but were ultimately upheld as constitutional, which unleashed their widespread
use.
The real estate industry also reinforced discriminatory practices and the "color line." In 1924,
the National Association of Real Estate Boards established a "code of ethics" which prohibited
realtors from introducing"members of any race or nationality" to a neighborhood if it would
threaten property values. This resulted in the practice known as "steering' —not showing
properties in White neighborhoods to people of color. The penalty for not adhering to the
ethics code, which stayed in effect until the late 1950s, was loss of license.119 Restrictive
covenants and discriminatory real estate practices were widespread in Bakersfield during this
period.
Around 1917, the Brandt Investment Co. developed the Laguna Square Tract, one of the
earliest large tracts to be subdivided and one of the first in the county to advertise its racial
covenants as an amenity. The tract was bordered by the south side of Bank Street to the north,
the north side of Brundage Lane to the south, the west side of H Street to the east, and the
west side of Oleander Avenue to the west. Vacant parcels and spec homes were offered for
sale. Homes were built mostly in the Craftsman style, with some later Period Revival designs.
""'Millions of Dollars In New Buildings; Bakersfield Californian, December 23,1910,1
"''Millions of Dollars in New Buildings,' Bakersfield Californian, December 23,1910,1
"s SurvexLA: African American Historic Context Statement, 38.
1° Survei African American Historic Context Statement, 40, As Richard Rothstein points out in his book, The Color of Law, the
state licensu re of these realtors did not make them government agents but l In effect the state did contribute to di
segregation by licensing organizations that utilized these practices. Richard Rothstein, The Color billow (New York, NY
Liverighq 2017).
34
Amenities included extra -wide lots, the elimination of alleys, and the laying of sidewalks next
to the curb.
Other racially restricted neighborhoods included the Burnetta Park Tract from 1921. The
practical reality is that most subdivisions and tracts had deed restrictions, but these specific
developments called them out as selling points. Other restricted neighborhoods advertised in
the newspapers included the Consuelo Park District in the Lowell Addition; as well as the
Beardsley, Alta Vista, Oleander Park, South Bakersfield, River View, Industrial Acres, and
Airport tracts 120
Ridge Route from Los Angeles
The first reliable automobile link from Los Angeles to Bakersfield was the road known as the
Ridge Route, which first opened in 1915 and was fully paved by 1919.111 It was a 20 foot -wide
roadway carved out of the mountains with horse-drawn dirt scrapers. The posted speed limit
was 15 miles per hour. Despite the tough driving conditions, the Ridge Route helped to limit
Bakersfield's isolation by enabled agricultural products and oil to be distributed in Southern
California.
Basque Town, Italian Immigrants, and East Bakersfield
By 1900, Bakersfield and Sumner/East Bakersfield were home to 213 Basques and four Basque
hotel s. 122 After the turn of the century, Basque town continued to grow. Kern City was
incorporated into Bakersfield in 1910, becoming "East Bakersfield." Basque Town was highly
concentrated south of Sumner Street. The hotels and other stores were clustered the train
station. The location directly across from the train station was key to new Basque arrivals.
—Tnm sufNn
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Alahi C•N iia,,W.Ilip.GrNWlauyrr Y•k.ry
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Map of Basque Town.
(Echeverria, Home
Away From Home. A
History of Basque
Boarding Houses)
20 Gilbert Peter Gia, Race, Sports and Black Unity:1875-1988, (Bakersfield, CA: Gilbert Peter Gia, 2019), 32.
" Paul Dugmski,'Fhe Grapevine is the Heart of California's Freeway System. It is also vulnerable.- Los Angeles Times, December
28,2019.https://www.lat,m,s.,om/calif.,nia/story/2019-12-27/southern-californias-grapevine-will-again-test-travelers-in-
coming-days-heres-a-little-history (accessed October 28, 2022),
"Jeronimo Echeverria, Home Awoy From Home: A History o(Basque Boarding Homes, (Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press,
1999), 40.
Pc
35
Noreiga and Etcheverry renegotiated their partnership and built their second Basque hotel,
named The Pyrenees, a brick building costing $9,000.123 The partners leased the Iberia Hotel
to other operators, but the Noriega and Etcheverry families continued to live there. In 1906,
they changed the name of the Iberia Hotel to Noriega15.124 The Noriega Hotel (525 Sumner
Street) remained relatively unchanged for many years.'" In 1920, a fire damaged the hotel and
in 1928, another fire damaged the livery area and handball court. In the Crash of 1929, local
Basques Jean and Graciana (Grace) Elizalde lost their sheep and turned to managing the
Noriega Hotel.
Francisco Amestoy migrated from the Basque region to Southern California in 1904, making his
way to Bakersfield and working in the Iberia/Noriega Hotel. Francisco and his wife, Anselma,
were among the proprietors who ran the Noriega Hotel during the 1920s. They purchased the
nearby Cesmat Hotel in 1927, located on East 21st Street. With assistance from Ardizzi and
Olcese, the Amestoys established an informal East Bakersfield financial institution that helped
many Basques with loans and financing. In 1928, the Amestoys moved into their hotel (622 E.
21st Street).126
During the mid-1920s, the second -story Metropole Hotel (corner of Sumner and Baker streets)
was run by Jean Estribou, as well as Jacques and Grace Iriat. In contrast to Noriega's and the
Amestoy—where French, Italians, and Basques regularly attended Saturday night dinners and
dances, the Metropole was not as much of a social center for the local immigrant community.127
During prohibition, the French hotels of Bakersfield continued to serve alcohol to Basque
patrons, mostly in the form of homemade wine.
East Bakersfield was home to more than just Basques, it also had thriving Mexican and Italian
populations. The years of the Mexican Revolution, between 1910 and 1920, brought many
Mexicans to California, including the Central Valley. The Southern Pacific and Santa Fe
Railways employed many Mexican railroad workers. Others were employed in the agricultural
industry. Efforts to help these migrants were made by the Mexican Evangelical Church (415
Fremont Street/415 E. 18th Street) and the Sociedad Juarez Mutualista Mexicana (815
Fremont Street/815 E. 18th Street).118 J.C. Nava came to Bakersfield in the early teens and
became a leader within the community. In 1910, he helped found the Portof rio Diaz
Club/Juarez Mutual Aid Society for the purpose of raising money for charitable aid, social
engagement, and celebration of Mexican culture and history. In addition to Nava, founders
included. J.V. Garcia, Manuel Ortega, and Fermin Silva.
J.V. Garcia was an early and prosperous businessman who owned the Bakersfield Employment
Bureau (1501 E. 19th Street) that brokered workers for oil fields, mines, ranches, dairies, hotels,
and restaurants. Another early Mexican businessman, Fermin Silva, owned a saloon at 1300
20th Street, at the corner of 20th and L streets, as early as 1902. Early on, the club held events
at other locations, like the Armory Hall. By the 1920s, membership was growing and the Juarez
Bakersfield and Kern City Directory, 1999 (Fresno: Marks, Weston, and Coopeq 18"), 45.
u° Basque scholar Mary Grace Pacquette traces Faustino Noriega to living at 1325 Baker Street in 1901.
us Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
er Determined eligible for I 'sting on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Jeronimo Echeverria, Home Away from Home, 211.
" Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013,
b I I I . . J, I r I1fdr
36
Mutual Aid Society severed its connection with the Protestant church and engaged with Our
Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. They needed a building of their own. The Spanish-
speaking community of Bakersfield also had a Spanish -language newspaper at this time, El
Centenario.
During this period, Italian immigration to the United States increased nationally, a trend that
was reflected in Bakersfield. By 1910, the census enumerated more than 100 Italian men, plus
an additional 50 wives and children. A majority of the men were working for the railroad in
capacities such as boilermakers, pipefitters, blacksmith, and other laborers."` Women often
took in laundry for the railroad workers to earn extra money, or ran boarding houses for the
men.
The 1920 Census shows a residential concentration of Italians in the 1200 block of Kentucky
Street, and along Robinson and Miller streets. An example of one of the early Italian immigrant
homes is that of John Banducci and his family (1228 Kentucky Street). Banducci was a
machinist for the Southern Pacific and his home was directly across from the tracks. The 1920
Census shows that in addition to his wife and three children, Banducci also housed three
Italian -born boarders (a machinist, blacksmith, and trucksman for the railroad, respectively).
With an increasing number of Italians in the community, more Italian stores, cafes, and markets
emerged; physicians and lawyers soon followed. Important members of the community
included Antonio Pasquini and his wife Amelia. They opened a restaurant for a time, but by
1900 Antonio was working for Angelo Pierucci as a cook at the Union Hotel. Around this time,
they bought 60 acres on H Street between Ming Avenue and Terrace Way. There they farmed
and made wine which they sold to stores and restaurants. Their two sons, Frank and Pet
Pasquini, opened Pasquini Brothers Grocery (1209 19th Street). They catered to the many
Italians in the growing community by carrying items that other markets did not. Frank
eventually went into business with Fred Banducci, buying the Mission Bar (113119th Street).
Another early Italian merchant in Bakersfield was Attilio Bertolaccini (1887-1949) who
operated a dry goods store (121619th Street). He came to Bakersfield in 1907.130 During the
early 1900s, Giuseppe Lemucci (1881-1951) worked at several cafes in Bakersfield until he
opened his own place. By 1910, he had both a cafe and a grocery store (725 E. 19th Street).
Giuseppe and his wife Amelia lived on the premises of the grocery store as was common for
early merchants. During the 1920s and 1930s, the bar was added next to the old store and the
restaurant expanded into the building to the east. The expanded business was then renamed
"Luigi s." It remains one of Bakersfield's oldest continuously -operating legacy businesses to this
day.
Amy and Olcese continued to flourish, providing much needed capital in the Italian and Basque
community. In 1918, the government stepped in and required Olcese to organize legally as a
bank. It became known as the Alley Bank. It was later bought out by the Bank of Italy. By 192Z
the Societa Dante Alighieri was founded as a mutual aid society to support the Italians of
Bakersfield. The Bakersfield Californian also documented the social occasions sponsored by the
"Donna Tessandori Weeks, The lmliam of Kern County, 36.
1'Pioneer Merchant succumbs At 62, Bakersfield Colifomian, May 28, 1949, 27.
37
society. Formation of the "Dante Society," as it was known, was also an opportunity to share in
the old ways. Over the years the Society remodeled the old 1909 Stine School into Dante Hall
(4415 Wilson Road).
Suffrage, Temperance, and Representation in Bakersfield
The defeat of suffrage late in the 1800s cooled the fervor of the suffrage movement, but by
1910 California women were ready to take another run at gaining the vote. Women were
accorded the right to vote in California in October 10, 1911 by a margin of 2,051 votes."' In
Kern County, the majority in favor of suffrage was much narrower-1,759 for and 1,592
against —passage by just 170 votes."'
In 1919, Bakersfield elected one of the first four women to serve in the California State
Legislature, Grace Storey Dorris (nee Greed) (1887-1968). Born in Ventura, California, Dorris
married attorney Wiley C. Dorris. Grace Storey Dorris was a graduate of the University of
California, Berkeley in 1909. She was an early suffragist and appeared on the scene in
Bakersfield in the mid -teens as a teacher of ancient and modern languages at Kern County
Union High School.
In 1918, Dorris decided to run for State Assembly on a pro -Prohibition, pro -labor, pro -suffrage
platform, and on local issues regarding water and farming. Winning her election, she began
serving in 1919, ultimately serving two terms. Dorris was also the first woman in the California
legislature to introduce legislation. The bill limited the hours of service of a domestic servant to
ten. While serving in the Assembly, she resided in a Craftsman -style bungalow at 19172nd
Street. She later served in a leadership position for the American Civil Liberties Union and the
League of Women Voters.
The Klan
During the early 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan began a national recruitment campaign for members.
In June of 1921, Homer R. Pitts arrived in Kern County to recruit members. Pitts was very
successful, recruiting 400 people from the county and nearly 250 from Bakersfield .)"Although
the Klan is regularly associated with racial violence, the Bakersfield klavern (i.e, chapter),
known as the Kern River Klan, was more concerned with moral indiscretions related to sex and
marital infidelity. Regardless, the Bakersfield Klan's activity quickly turned violent, drawing
negative attention from the local newspapers and the ire of District Attorney Jess Dorsey, who
mounted a campaign to prosecute local members, Initially the Kern River Klan met at the home
of Harry D. Reynolds (921 Niles Street). As it grew, meetings moved to the Taylor Building
(1660 Chester Avenue) and the name of the organization was changed to the innocuous -
sounding 'Kern River Club."
Jean Eyraud, the Basque who operated a cigar and soft drink stand, was the first person in
Bakersfield subjected to Klan violence, but he was not the last. As violence increased, Jess
"' NEED CITATION
"''County Majority is For Suffrage," Bakersfield Morning Echo, October 13,1911, 1.
'°°Alicia E. Rodriguez, 'No Ku Klux Klan for Kern, Southern California Quarzedy, Vol. 99, No 1, 14.
38
Dorsey was motivated to step up his investigation, eventually exposing the names of the
members of the secret organization and prosecuting several of them. Some of the City's most
prominent citizens appeared on the list of members including Chief of Police Charles A. Stone,
County Supervisor Stanley Abel, several deputy sheriffs, and two justices of the peace.
Dorsey's indictments and trials served to effectively shut the organization down in Bakersfield
within thirteen months of the formation of the organization.134
By the mid-1910s, the primary employer of African American men in Bakersfield was the
Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads.135 In 1918, just four years after the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in Los Angeles, a
Bakersfield chapter was established. The President was Mansion Hall and meetings were held
in Winters Hall 136 The chapter hosted many regional and national speakers throughout the
1920s, some of whom would also lectured at Cain A.M.E. Church.
In 1927, George A. Handis became the Bakersfield's first African American doctor since the
first wave of agricultural workers were brought to the region by Haggin and Tevis. The city's
first African American dentist was W. M. Pillow, who moved to Bakersfield from Los Angeles in
1933.
Agriculture, the Automobile, and Suburbanization
The discovery of oil in Bakersfield coincided with the rise of the automobile in America and the
insatiable demand for gasoline that came with it. Californians especially embraced the new
mode of transportation. However, oil also drove innovation in farming. As oil ushered in
electricity, it became possible to pump water from deep in the water table, thus freeing farmers
from the irrigation canals and enabling crop rotation which increased production. With the lack
of water no longer an issue, there was more flexibility in which crops to grow and many Kern
County farmers turned to cotton. Wofford B. Camp (1894-1986) founded the Cotton
Experiment Station in nearby Shaker, where he eventually discovered a type of Mexican cotton
called Acola, which was ideal for the growing conditions around Bakersfield. This discovery
perfectly dovetailed with a nation-wide cotton shortage.
In 1915, Bakersfield's relative isolation was diminished due to the completion of the first Ridge
Route through the Grapevine. Although it was only a dirt road initially, it opened automobile
traffic between Kern County and Los Angeles. The rise of the automobile was an important
factor in suburbanization of many California cities, including Bakersfield. During the 19205,
Chester Avenue became "automobile row," with new brick buildings constructed for
dealerships, and livery stables converted for auto sale and service.l3'
During the early 1920s, moneyed investors started buying and developing residential tracts for
the sale of lots. Locations outside the existing city limits were especially attractive as they
offered more affordable land prices and relief from city taxes. With the advent of the
134 Alicia E Rodriguez, -No Ku Klux Klan for Kern,"Southem California Quarterly, Vol. 99, No 1, 3T
"' Gilbert Peter Gia, Rare Soon and Black Unity, 1975-1988, 38.
16"Colored Citizens Will Meet Monday; Bakersfield Morning Echo, August 18, 1918, no page.
" Richard C. Bailey, Heart ofthe Golden Eanpm 85.
39
automobile, tracts no longer needed to be served by the streetcar, thus opening up land further
from the city center for subdivision and development.
Examples of suburban development of this type from the early 1920s include Primavera Park.
Located on the former Julius Newman estate, the 250-acre development in East Bakersfield
opened in February of 1922. Marketed as "The Hollywood of Bakersfield," model homes were
erected to show what could be built for $2,500, $3,500 and $5,000. Los Angeles -based architect
Frank A. Brown was the architect."' Spanish Colonial Revival architecture was encouraged. The
development consisted of hundreds of parcels northeast of Niles Street at Mount Vernon
Avenue including Oregon, Pacific, Locus Ravine, Camino Primavera, Quincy Drive, and Cypress
Circle. Another large tract from this period was the approximately 350-parcel Descanso Park
subdivision. Recorded in 1923, it was bounded by Niles Street to the north, Center Street to the
south, Oswell Street to the east, and Barlow Street to the west.
The Sunset Park Tract, with over 300 parcels, was subdivided in 1925. Bordered by the south
side of California Avenue to the north, the north side of Chester Avenue to the south, the east
side of Pine Street to the east, and Oak Street to the west, Sunset Park was another
neighborhood of relatively modest bungalows. A model home was constructed at 2702 Park
Way in 1926 to lure potential buyers. To the north, the Highland Park Tract was subdivided in
1925. Divided into nearly 200 parcels, it was located on Douglas Street, Highland Drive, Francis
Street and Arvin Streets between Wells Avenue and N. Chester Avenue. Other East
Bakersfield subdivisions from this period included the Descanso Park Tract, the Watson
Subdivision., and the Virginia Tract.
Bakersfield's Central Park was first established in August of 1921 between 19th and 21st
streets next to R Street. Shortly after it opened, the W.C.T.U. donated a public drinking
fountain in the park. In 1925, San Francisco architect A. Foluboff prepared a design for a
Japanese garden for Central Park, including tori gate, bamboo garden houses, a tea house, and
a pagoda."' It is unclear if this was ever built.
During the 1920s, State Route 99 (Highway 99), the premiere north -south road through the
Central Valley, incorporated Union Avenue north of Brundage Lane. As a result, a number of
automobile -related businesses and services began to populate the area. At the time, the State
Route took a westward turn at 18th Street and jogged north along Chester Avenue. This
coincided with the development of a number of light industrial and auto -related businesses
along 18th Street (see below).
By the end of the 1920s, Bakersfield's population had doubled from 17,000 to 34,000.141 It had a
thriving oil and cotton industry. As author and historian John Maynard described the situation,
"Bakersfield not only had Black gold, but White gold as well." With that came expansion in
civic, institutional, commercial, industrial, and residential development. The prosperity that
came from local industries, combined with the quest for respectability, meant Bakersfield's
physical development was on overdrive during this period.
"e'Pln Money For the Ladies,' Bakersfield Morning Echo, October 29, 1922, 10.
'''Election of New Club Officers to Take Place at Meeting Tomorrow Evening" Bakersfield Californian, May 1, 1925, 9.
no John Maynard, Bakersfield, ACentennial Portrait, 60,
h. " I Chl
-
40
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State Route 99 (US 99), 1928-1933. (Bakersfield
Californian)
Thus, between 1899 and 1928, Bakersfield transformed itself from a Wild West outpost to a
respectable if sprawling city with an impressive downtown. By 1929, there were some 34,000
residents within the city limits. Wealthy citizens hired talented local architects, as well as the
occasional Los Angeles or San Francisco professional, to build residential, commercial, and
institutional buildings that reflected the town's prosperity. During this period, Bakersfield
became known as "The Queen of the San Joaquin:'
THEMES
THEME: Early Civic and Institutional Development
Population growth required new civic and institutional infrastructure. A new Kern County
Courthouse designed by Frederick Mayer in the Beaux Arts Classical style was constructed
around 1912 with a budget of $400,000. Mayer also drew the landscape plan. During the early
teens, the city purchased the elaborate Victorian -style former county courthouse (7th and Eye
streets) for use as its city hall. Thomas B. Wiseman was engaged as architect for the
remodeling.
In December of 1912, ground was broken for a new Mercy Hospital (at Truxtun Avenue and C
Street). Designed by Orville L. Clark, the three-story structure, described in the Bakersfield
Morning Echo as "Spanish Renaissance," was conceived as a cross between the missions and
modern hospital design. The building contained the city's first elevator. Dedication of the
building in November of 1913 drew Catholic church dignitaries from Los Angeles. Five years
41
later, Kern County Hospital required the building of an additional ward and engaged Orville L.
Clark to prepare the plans.
Another important local institution, Bakersfield College, was established in 1913, and remains
one of the oldest community colleges in the nation. Various accounts suggest that the board of
trustees for the Kern County High School (present-day Bakersfield High School) may have
approved junior college classes as early as 1910, just three years after California State Senator
Anthony Caminetti sponsored a law to create junior colleges throughout the state. The initial
Bakersfield College program offered a one-year curriculum. In 1915, the trustees authorized a
second year of junior college and normal school courses. The purpose of the school was to
"provide the first two years of regular four-year college courses" and "enable pupils who have
not planned to go away to college get two years of schooling at home.u141 As an outgrowth of
the Kern County High School, Bakersfield College was originally located on what is now the
campus of Bakersfield High School. In the early 1910s, the Beaux Arts -style Baker Street
branch of the Kern County Library (1400 Baker Street) was constructed. 102
The first two decades of the 20th century saw a flourishing of social and civic organizations in
the city, many of which erected dedicated clubhouses during this period, often designed by
Bakersfield's leading architects. Notable buildings included the Elks Lodge (153117th Street);
the Woman's Club of Bakersfield (1806 D Street) by Charles H. Biggar; the Caledonia Masonic
Lodge (718 Oregon Street) by Eugene K. Martin; the multi -story Bakersfield Club (19th and F
streets) by T. B. Wiseman; and the Odd Fellows Hall (Chester and 17th Street) also by
Wiseman.
The three-story Masonic Temple (192018th Street) by San Francisco -based architect Carl
Werner, opened in 1924. The Italian Renaissance Revival -style building cost over $300,000. Clad
in marble, it was "embellished with the symbolical figures of the Masonic order.n103 The lavish
interior featured travertine and mahogany, with crystal and silver chandeliers. The third floor
featured a large auditorium with seating capacity for 1,600. The basement housed a banquet
hall capable of seating 1,000.
With significant population growth during this period, many churches expanded or built new
sanctuaries. These large and imposing structures were key to the character of the built
environment in Bakersfield in the early decades, as they conveyed a sense of the permanence
and prosperity fitting a respectable city. In 1902, a new St. Paul's Episcopal Church (17th and
Eye streets) was designed by architect Ben MacDougall, and the 1886 church on the site was
relocated to Kern City."' Like many of Bakersfield's early churches, St. Paul's did not survive
the 1952 earthquake. St. Joseph's Catholic Church (1515 Baker Street) met a similar fate. Built
10' Emily Claffy,'Bakersfield College Centennial: 100 Years of Higher Education, Bakersfield Californian, July 26,1913.
hups://www.bakersfield.cam/bakersField_life/bakersfield-college-centennial-100-years-cf-higher-education/anicle_87b99d70-
e468-519c-949e-019fa1329ad4.htm1
" Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979; listed on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places in 1981.
141'Masonic Temple to Be Dedicated Monday in Italian Type," Bakersfield Californian, May 31, 1924, 9.
"0It became known there as St. Berri Chapel.
42
in 1923 and designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival -style, it was constructed of hollow clay
tile and was rendered uninhabitable not by the main temblor, but by one of the aftershocks.'°'
In 1910, the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church (1707 17th Street) were working on plans
for a new sanctuary with Train & Williams, a Los Angeles -based firm that opened a branch
office in Bakersfield.1" Plans for a Tudor Gothic Revival -style structure were drawn by Thomas
B. Wiseman, who had recently relocated to Bakersfield for the firm of Train & Williams. In late
1919, the church was consumed by fire and architect John Galen Howard (1864-1931) was
called in to consult on its replacement.
In 1910, the First Church of Christ, Scientist (17th and G streets) was dedicated in service to
the community, designed by Los Angeles -based architect Elmer C. Andrus. Eleven students of
Christ Science established the church just six years prior. Around 1917, St. John's Evangelical
Church was erected (2119 20th Street). The Victorian -style structure featured a small
sanctuary and bell tower. During the 1920s, another out-of-town architect, Robert Orr of Los
Angeles, was tapped to design the First Christian Church (1603 Eye Street) and First Methodist
Church (1701 Truxton Avenue). A smaller, more modest church was erected for the Mormon
congregation, the Colonial Revival -style Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (800
Monterey Street) was completed in 1920.
The population growth and expansion that fueled the development of social/civic organizations
and churches also significantly impacted Bakersfield schools. Between 1906 and 1929, many
schools were built. These included Thomas Jefferson School (816 Lincoln Street) by Thomas B.
Wiseman, c. 1917); Lincoln School (801 Eureka Street) by Charles H. Biggar and Thomas B.
Wiseman, c. 1921); and Roosevelt School (2300 Verde Street) by Eugene K. Martin, c. 1922. It
appears that nearly all of these schools were replaced by Mid -Century Modern designs after
the earthquake.
Kern County Union High School (present-day Bakersfield High School) was also in a constant
state of expansion. In 1918, Orville L. Clark designed an addition to the manual training
building. In 1920, Charles H. Biggar added two wood -frame classroom buildings. Biggar was
later tapped for a new $100,000 classroom building in 1924, completed in 1925.
THEME: Early Commercial Development
During the early 1910s, Bakersfield's commercial development sky -rocketed, fueled by the oil
and agriculture money. The Bakersfield Morning Echo featured hundreds of stories of wealthy
businessmen building three- and four-story buildings in the downtown area and moving
eastward. Most of the buildings had retail on the ground floor and apartments or hotel rooms
on the upper floors. They were commonly of brick construction, with stone or marble on their
primary facades. Many existing buildings were expanded or built multi -story additions.
Examples included the three-story Scofield Building (east side of Chester Avenue, opposite the
Hall of Records) by T.B. Wiseman; the 1910 S. Brodek Building (corner of 18th and K streets) by
architect J.M. Saffell; the Harding Building (1517-152119th Street) designed in 1910 by Bemus
"'Elements such as the historic stained glass window, stations of the cross, some oak pews and some roof tiles were salvaged and
used in the new 1953 building.
ui'Presbyterians Accept plans for New Church; Bakersfield Morning Echo, February 1, 1910, no page.
43
& Clark; and the Olcovich Building. One of the most elegant buildings was the Standard Oil
Building, also known as the Jastro Building (1800 19th Street), designed by Thomas B.
Wiseman.1a1 Bakersfield's place in the California oil industry was cemented when Standard Oil
moved its Central California operations to this location.
An exemplar of commercial development in downtown Bakersfield was the 1927 Haberfelde
Building (1706 Chester Avenue).191 Designed by local architect Charles H. Biggar in the Beaux
Arts style, the five -story office building was owned by George Haberfelde and his daughter,
Clarisse Haberfelde. The building offered 80 offices for business and professional services, and
for years was the city's premiere address for doctors, dentists, lawyers, and architects. Sitting
prominently on a corner lot, the ground floor was lined with glassed -in retail storefronts along
17th Street and Chester Avenue. When completed, it was one of the tallest buildings in the San
Joaquin Valley. George Haberfelde (1871-1962) owned a thriving Ford dealership and was
Mayor of Bakersfield from 1923 until 1925.
During these early decades, Bakersfield served as the urban center for much of Kern County.
As such, the city was home to five -and ten -cent stores, large department stores, and other
commercial retailers. Examples include the 1920 Hochheimer & Company (1918 Chester
Avenue) by Orville L. Clark, which became Brock's Department Store in 1924;149 and the
Redlick Brothers Department Store (southwest corner of 19th and Eye streets) by E.L.
Jefferson.
The period also spawned the development of several hotels in Bakersfield. In 1911, plans for the
Italian Renaissance Revival -style Palace Hotel (1407 19th Street) were drawn by architects
Jefferson & Griffiths, with more than 200 guestrooms, a ballroom, dining rooms, and card
rooms. That same year, the three-story brick Hotel Kosel (1102 19th Street) was designed by
Bemus & Clark for Peter Kosel. In the mid-1920s, preparations began for the development of a
-community hotel" for which funds were raised from investors within the community. Known
as the El Tejon Hotel (corner of Truxtun and Chester avenues), it was designed by T.P.
Morehead in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Opened in May of 1926, it was an instant
success and talk of building an annex immediately commenced. In 1928, the eight -story,
Spanish Colonial Revival -style Padre Hotel (170218th Street) was designed by Los Angeles
architect John M. Cooper.
For many Kern County residents, Bakersfield was an entertainment draw. The Bakersfield
Opera House (172119th Street) was erected in 1906 and featured 800 electric light bulbs over
the sidewalk. By 1909, Chester Avenue was known as theater row. Along the avenue were
Morely's, Para's, Scribner's, Grogg's, the Empire, and the Lyceum. During the 1920s, new
theaters were built including the Elite Theater (17th Street and Chester Avenue), the Rex (19th
and L streets), and the C&S.
During this period, local architect Charles H. Biggar (1882-1946) received commissions for
some of Bakersfield's most prominent buildings. They included the 1925 Beaux Arts -style First
'°' Listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 1983.
'"Determined eligible listing on for the National Register of Historic Places (no date).
°° Historical Marker Database, httpsl/www.hmdb,org/m,asp?m-55116 (accessed August 1, 2022).
44
National Bank (900 Baker Street), the 1926 Bakersfield Californian building (1707 Eye Street),10
the Spanish Colonial Revival -style Agriculture Building at the Kern County Fairgrounds (3801
Chester Avenue) in 1926-27, and the Italian Renaissance Revival -style First Baptist Church
(1200 Truxtun Avenue) in 1931."'
In addition to the building boom in downtown Bakersfield, a commercial strip in East
Bakersfield grew and expanded. By 1925, the 700, 800, 900, and 1000 blocks of Baker Street
boasted grocery stores, men's furnishings, a furniture store, and various other small retailers.
Orville Clark designed the remodel of the Bank of Italy (824 Baker Street), when the financial
institution opened its East Bakersfield branch. Thomas B. Wiseman designed the Kern
Plumbing Building (950 Baker Street) and the First Bank of Kern (801 Baker Street).
THEME: Early Industrial Development
The rise of the oil and agriculture industries in Bakersfield also supported related industrial
development. One important company was the Bakersfield Iron Works (23rd and M streets),
which built oil field machinery. In 1910, the Californian reported they had so much business
that the plant consistently worked overtime and on Sundays to meet demand. That same year,
the Iron Works hired Bemus & Clark to design an additional building at 23rd and L streets.
Other oil well supply companies in Bakersfield during the teens included Fairbanks Morse &
Co, National Supply Company, and Oil Well Supply Company, all located in the 1900 and 2000
blocks of Chester Avenue.
Like many cities, much industrial development in Bakersfield developed along the railroad
tracks with short spurs on which they could load and offload materials. Along the Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe tracks that ran east/west south of downtown, facilities included A.W.
Bannister Hay Grain & Storage, Union Lumber Co., the Ranier Bottling Works, Maier Brewing
Co., Wieland's Bottling Works, and the Bakersfield Lumber Co. On the south side of the
Southern Pacific tracks, the King Lumber Co. operated a large mill, and the Kern County Land
Company operated a large warehouse next to several smaller independent warehouses and oil
well supply firms.
Light industrial development also flourished east of downtown along 18th, 19th and 20th
streets. Many of these businesses were related to the increasing popularity of the automobile,
including automotive service, auto repair, and tire installation. Typically, these were one-story
commercial vernacular style structures of brick or wood. Examples include the Bakersfield
Machine Co. (90318th Street).
THEME: Early Residential Development
Bakersfield's reputation as a "Bungalow Town" was well -deserved. Owners who did not
purchase kit homes engaged with architects to build custom bungalows and cottages.
Examples included the W.W. McGregor Residence by J.M. Saffell (1615 Baker Street); J. H.
Wagner Residence by Orville L. Clark (2929 22nd Street); F.L. Repologle Residence by architect
E.H. Lieritz (1215 L Street); Phil Klipstein Residence by Thomas B. Wiseman (216 D Street);
sa Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
°1 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s.
45
and the John Nelson Residence by architect G H. Thurber (907 Monterey Street) in the
southwestern residential neighborhood. A rare, extant example of the bungalows that used to
populate the area is the R.L. Brown Residence (2128 E Street)."
The wealth that flooded into the city as a result of the oil and agriculture economies also meant
that a number of wealthy patrons (typically doctors, lawyers, bankers and other professionals)
engaged architects to build custom homes in the city. Typically ranging from $5,000 to $10,000
in budget, these homes were larger and built in the popular architectural styles of the day. For
example, a Victorian -style residence was designed by E. Bemus and Orville L. Clark for dentist
P.S. Wilbur (230018th Street). Clark also designed a Tudor Revival -style residence (2128 18th
Street) for oilman J.W. Brisco, and a Victorian -style residence (present-day 1627 Baker Street)
in East Bakersfield for J.B. Cauzza. Although the architect of the Queen Anne/Eastlake-style
Spencer Residence (1321 N Street) is unknown, it remains one of the most elaborate examples
of the style in the city.151
During the first decade of the 20th century, many of Bakersfield's prominent citizens began
building homes in the strip of the original township that extended southward along Oleander
Avenue. A 1912 Sanborn map reveals the construction of large homes and residential estates
along Oleander Avenue between California Avenue and Chester Lane.154 Ads for these lots first
appear in the Bakersfield Morning Echo in May of 1904. A 1905 Sanborn map of the area only
identifies a large home on the southwest corner of California and Oleander avenues, suggesting
that the residential development along the street was concentrated between 1905 and 1912.'ss
The neighborhood became home to some of the city's most accomplished professionals. The
area attracted a number of oilmen, including Hugh A. Blodget (925 Oleander Avenue) and
Samuel A. Johnson (809 Oleander Avenue). Others were involved in banking and finance, such
as Arthur C. Crites (1001 Oleander Avenue), a budding executive at the Kern City Bank. Calvin
Vance Anderson, a well-known lawyer (920 Oleander Avenue), ultimately became an executive
with the Bakersfield Abstract Company, which managed loans and insurance. Mrs. Celia Holtby,
the widow of Robert Holtby, presented herself as a "capitalist" who offered loans when the
census taker visited (700 Oleander Avenue) in 1910. Around 1920, George Haberfelde, who had
diversified his furniture business with a Ford dealership, purchased the Hugh A. Blodget
Residence and expanded it into the palatial residence that exists today. The publisher of the
Bakersfield Californian, Alfred Harrell, was living in this neighborhood (1121 Oleander Avenue)
by 1900, cementing his position in Bakersfield society. The unique Mission -style residence of
Samuel F. Smith (1002 Oleander Avenue) was befitting his position within the community as a
physician and surgeon.
During the 1920s, more homes were developed along Oleander —some subdivided on existing
parcels and others on new parcels southward. In 1919, Henry Brandt built his own residence in
this neighborhood (729 Oleander Avenue). The Bakersfield Californian identified Brandt as a
's' Listed as an area of historical interest on the Bakersfield Register of Historic places.
"Listed m the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places In 1997; determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic
Places in 2012,
At the time, Oleander Avenue extended northward from California Avenue, but these homes tended to be smaller dwellings on
smaller parcels.
ss Oleander Avenue was known as D Street in City Directories from the early 20th century.
46
man who "built more homes in Bakersfield than any other."16 Brandt was a developer who built
many homes in the Oleander/Sunset area. He was president of the Kern County Board of
Trade, and donated land for school construction in the city. He also had agricultural land
holdings outside of the city, and was a leader in the Masonic Lodge.
As previously discussed, tract were soon being developed to the south, east, and west of the
Oleander Avenue homes. One of the few tracts to fully develop homes in a concentrated period
of time was the Westpark Tract. Subdivided in 1910 by George Hay, an aggressive sales
campaign resulted in a high build -out rate, whereas lots in other nearby tracts often remained
unimproved for decades. A sales promotion conducted in concert with the Bakersfield
Californian included a free lot in the subdivision 157
WESTPABK
BALLAGH &T WGIiBM
Advertisement for the Westpark subdivision, July 15, 1910.
(Bakersfield Morning Echo)
In addition to single-family residences, Bakersfield was also home to a large number of
apartment buildings. These included furnished lodging houses designed to accommodate
transitional populations as the town expanded, as well as more traditional apartment buildings
of various sizes. Examples of the latter include the 1910 Manley Apartments (190618th
Street); the Orville Clark designed Scofield Apartments (Chester Avenue between Truxtun
Avenue and 17th Street); the 1920 Colonial Apartments (202518th Street);t58 and the 1923
McGill Apartments (1821 B Street).19
The 1920 City Directory listed 75 furnished rooms/boarding/lounging houses. They were
clustered in downtown Bakersfield and in East Bakersfield's commercial area. Extant examples
of rooming houses from this period include the 1910 Orville L. Clark -designed Decatur Hotel
"'-Is Master Builder," Bakersfield Californian, April 12, 1924, 3.
Advertisement, Bakersfield Californian, December 24, 1910, 3.
rs° Listed on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places in 1992,
t99 Listed on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places in 1992.
47
(202719th Street); the Grand Hotel (2018 Chester Avenue); and the Noriega Hotel (525
Sumner Street).16'
Although the majority of the multi -family residential properties were large and medium-sized
apartment buildings, a few bungalow courts were built around the city. The El Reposo Court (C
and D Streets near 23rd Street) was a group of eight cottages built in 1913 and designed by
Thomas B. Wiseman in the "Spanish" style, with a central pergola and landscaped walkways.16'
The Mission -style St. Elmo Court (1800 Forrest Street) was also constructed in 1919.
10 Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016,
161'Platz Is Building Bungalows," BokersfNd Morning Echo, January 26, 1913, 3.
48
CONTEXT: Depression and Resilience in Bakersfield,1929-
1940
After the joys and hopes of leaving the poverty of the farm then coming to a new
life and finding out that things were no better money wise, in fact they were
worse. They had to go on relief. It was devastating. It was bad enough to have to
be on relief without being treated like dirt, which is what they did. l was a young
teenager then but I was mortified seeing it reflected in my mother's face —but we
had to have the help. 1 B2
Elizabeth May Garber Day, arrived from
Nebraska in 1932
With the stock market crash of 1929, the nation ushered in a period of economic turmoil,
joblessness, and bread lines. However, with its twin industries of "oil and ag," Bakersfield fared
better than most cities. The wealth and relative stability that came with oil and agriculture
meant that the Great Depression came more slowly. Businesses were hard hit, but no banks
within the city failed. Author John Maynard, attributes the worst effects of the Depression to
the eventual bankruptcy of Kern County.163
Bakersfield was one of the few places where there was work to be had. When farmers and
farmworkers in states such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Arkansas reeled from a period of
severe drought and massive dust storms, thousands of families of "Okies," as they were called,
drove across the United States to California between 1935 and 1942. Those who landed in the
San Joaquin Valley were agricultural workers drawn to a place where crops still needed to be
planted and harvested. The "Dustbowl Migration" reached its apex in the mid-1930s,
comprising one of the largest population shifts in the world.160
Figure 2. Bakersfield Population Growth 1930-1940
1930 26,015 n/a
1940 29,252 12.4%
Source: U.S. Census
The Okies found themselves picking fruit and other crops in the Central Valley for poverty
wages. With nowhere to live, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) intervened and built
federally funded labor camps. The most famous of these was the Weedpatch Camp in nearby
Arvin from 1935. The proud Okies brought their style of folk music along with their tales of
hardship, and it is from this tradition that the Bakersfield Sound would emerge. The Okies
ru Elizabeth May Garber Day Interview, California Odyssey Oral History Program, California State College, Bakersfield, Interview
by Stacey Jagels, May 2, 1981, 23,
"r Jahn Maynard, Bokersheld, ACentennial Portrait, 61.
r" Robert E. Price, The Bakeafield Sound, 6.
49
faced discrimination, as the term became a pejorative stereotype associated with accents and
slovenly appearance.
Escapism and the Movies
Like millions of Americans, Bakersfield residents found respite from the hard -scrabble reality of
the Great Depression through the escapist entertainment of the movies. They flocked to
theaters and dance halls —which all prospered during the decade. The romances and musicals
that filled the screens in the big, dark caverns of the movie houses were seldom realistic and
often set in imaginary worlds or exotic locales. The architecture of the movie theaters of the
late 1920s and 1930s strove to extend the fantasy experience from the screen to the sidewalk.
Places such as the Fox Theater (2001 H Street)1.. and the Nile Theater (172119th Street),166
both by master movie palace architect S. Charles Lee, were just as fanciful as what was playing
on the big screen. During this decade, when so much was second-hand, worn down, and just
plain exhausted of hope, the theater where moviegoers saw a film was almost as important as
the film itself.
WPA and PWA Programs
During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to jumpstart the
national economy and to put Americans back to work with the New Deal. The 1933 Public
Works Administration (PWA) focused on the construction of highways and public buildings.
The largest of these programs, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), was created in 1935
and designed to fund much -needed infrastructure projects, employing a largely unskilled
workforce. Additional New Deal -era programs included the Civic Works Administration (CWA)
and the 1935 State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA).161These programs were the
source of commissions for architects and artists alike during an otherwise bleak period for
building, resulting in the construction of countless new bridges, schools, and libraries, among
other projects.
School buildings were a high priority in California following the devastating impact of the 1933
Long Beach earthquake on the region's elementary, junior high, and high school building stock.
Many of the older, multi -story structures designed of unreinforced brick were destroyed. As a
result, the California Legislature acted quickly. Within a month, they passed the Field Act,
which required tougher building standards for new schools and seismic retrofitting for older
schools. More than fifty school projects were built in the greater Bakersfield area during the
1930s. Many of these projects were funded in part by Federal PWA/WPA money and labor.
Harvey Auditorium at Bakersfield High School (1241 G Street) remains an outstanding local
example of PWA Moderne-style architecture.lse
For architects, the opportunity to remake California schools challenged conventional notions
about form and materials. The era of multi -storied brick buildings with double -loaded corridors
Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (no date); listed on the Bakersfield Register of Historic
Places in 1994.
166 Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (no date).
"Projects in Pomona," The Living New Deo( https://Iivingnewdeal,org/us/ca/pomona-caJ (accessed March 2022),
0° Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
50
of traditional classrooms gave way to the low-rise, low -density campus planning approach,
where individual classrooms were directly accessible from outside. Additionally, the use of
reinforced concrete construction and minimalist exterior decoration provided for greater safety
for students.
National Housing Act of 1934 and the FHA
Another arm of Roosevelt's strategy to combat the Great Depression was to stabilize and
expand the housing market. To that end, Congress passed the National Housing Act of 1934,
which established the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure home mortgage loans.
This legislation incentivized financial institutions to issue more loans under more favorable
terms for average working Americans. Prior to the establishment of the FHA, home loans were
only accessible to the wealthy, as buyers could only borrow 50 percent of the cost of the home
with a five-year repayment term that often terminated with a large balloon payment. With
FHA loan guarantees, mortgage loans were made available for as little as 10 percent down with
a loan life of 25 years.
As noted in Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Area, 1945-1973,
housing construction in Bakersfield in the late 1930s was aided by the FHA's small house
program, which established standards for the design and development of small houses, and the
affordable FHA -backed mortgages.1B9
Redlining, Communities of Color, and Immigrant Communities
Federal programs also played a significant role in systemic racism. Two New Deal housing
institutions, the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) and the FHA, founded in 1933 and
1934 respectively, were both created to encourage homeownership and to protect homeowners
at risk of foreclosure during the Great Depression. In practice, however, they only provided
protection for White property owners. Through an overt practice of denying mortgages based
upon race and ethnicity, the FHA played a significant role in the legalization and
institutionalization of racism and segregation.
The FHA insured bank mortgages that covered 80 percent of purchase prices. To be eligible,
the FHA conducted an appraisal of the property in order to select properties that had a low risk
of default. The guidelines included a "Whites only" requirement. The FHA underwriting manual
for its appraisers also recommended against "an infiltration of inharmonious racial or
nationality groups; and discouraged loans in older, urban neighborhoods.11' The 1936 FHA
underwriting manual recommended that "deeds to properties for which it issued mortgage
insurance should include an explicit prohibition of resale to Black citizens."111
To fulfill their missions of refinancing mortgages and granting low -interest loans to those who
had lost their homes, the agencies began rating neighborhoods as "security risks." What
emerged was a racial ranking of neighborhoods that relegated African American, Mexican,
"JRP Historical Consulting'Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Area,1945-1973," 4.
"° Rothstein, The Cola,cfLaw, 67.
" Rothstein, The Color AfLam 84.
51
Japanese, and Chinese neighborhoods to the bottom. Although other factors such as class, the
presence of industry, density, housing stock, and tax blight were also considered, racial
composition was a key factor in ranking, or coloring, those neighborhoods red (hence the term
`redlining"). These areas were barred from receiving federal assistance, effectively segregated,
and plunged into a vicious circle of decline.
A large number of African Americans also migrated to Bakersfield during the 1930s from the
American South, due to the availability of agricultural work, and in particular, cotton
harvesting. The living conditions that they found there, however, were likely not much better
than those they left behind in the rural South. Dirt -floor sheds and lean-tos were common.
People lived in tents and discarded streetcars and boxcars.112
Largely barred from living within the city limits, many African Americans settled southeast of
the city, adjacent to cotton fields in what became known as the Sunset -Mayflower (a.k.a.,
Lakeview -Mayflower) district.113 The area was located east of Union Cemetery, generally
bounded by California Avenue to the north, East Brundage Lane to the south, the Sunset
Western Railroad tracks to the east, and S. King Street to the west. Within this area were two
residential tracts: the Sunset Tract and the Mayflower Addition. Because these tracts were
outside the city limits, there were no city services such as sewer connection, trash collection,
police, or fire protection. For shelter, residents constructed shacks and other vernacular
structures that they could afford on their poverty wages. Although Bakersfield was not among
the California cities for which redlining maps were developed, the Sunset -Mayflower area
would have met FHA criteria for redlining.11°
Sunset Tract prior to its razing for public housing, 1940-41. (Housing Authority of the
County of Kern)
"'John a Mae Parker Oral History, California State College, Bakersfield, 1971. 5.
" It was also known as the Cottonwood Area because of Cottonwood Road (present-day Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard). It
was also referred to as Carver's Belt.
No redlining maps were produced for Bakersfield.
52
Basques continued to immigrate to Bakersfield during this period, albeit at slower rates than
earlier in the 2011 century. Frank Maitia came to Bakersfield in 1930 and herded sheep until he
raised enough money to buy the French House. He renamed it the Basque Cafe and it quickly
became a landmark within the Basque community, with Frank and his family living upstairs.
Maitia also acted as a de facto employment agent for the ranchers. He wired Basque associates
in the old country with the number of hands needed, and then arranged lodging for them at the
Noriega or Amestoy hotels. Maitia also organized handball matches within the community.
Another important community figure during the Depression was Graciana (Grace) Elizalde,
who continued to manage the Noriega Hotel. Well known for her kindness and compassion, she
helped hundreds of community members during this difficult decade.
f
f-
9 O o
' ox0 I
00
t f 00 x
Q O
f..na rxr laanr
GRr YFY:
I. IWee,llGw1 f.rrla
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Ia x. fare T.W 16.WWpV
f, pFly Mfl I I. tarp a.
f
Ix 11 yJ—W. Ix. 4X mf
f. of 13. VM 9brp
T.XMMaOurlrf
FI& B. L B odt of the Nang. HataL B ken9eld
Layout of Noriega's.
(Echeverria, Home Away From
Home: A History of Basque
Boarding Houses)
Bakersfield's two Chinatowns continued to operate side -by -side during the Great Depression.
A surprising number of businesses were established by members of the Chinese community
during the 1930s. One prominent family was the Choy family, who lived in China Alley in old
Chinatown. Windsor Quon Choy and Annie Lee Choy had three children: Wallace, Leland, and
Anna May. The Choys operated Canton Cafe (20th and L streets) during the 1930s. K.C. Choy
opened the Mandarin Cafe nightclub (1322 20th Street). Edgar Bergin and Charlie McCarthy
used to play the Mandarin Cafe's lounge 175
Lincoln Market (1930 L Street) was owned by the Earl Q. Wong family. The family is
remembered for extending credit to the Latino workers who lost their jobs during the
Depression. The Chinese benevolent association also handed out rice to members of the
Chinese community who could not afford it.1' Some of the prosperity within the Chinese
community was the result of the operation of illegal gambling operations. Often, these
establishments looked like cigar stores from the street, but had gambling in the back room. In
oral histories with community members, it was said that the police would allow such
establishments in the alley between 20th and 21st streets.l" Many Chinese from East
"' William Harland Boyd, The Chinese of Kern County, 18514960, 94.
°6 William Harland Boyd, The Chinese of Kern County, 1851496q 190.
11 William Harland Boyd, The Chinese of Kern County,1857-1960,124.
1... .. _ I I .. .I , 1i,,n _1, JF
53
Tehachapi moved to East Bakersfield during the Depression. Gan Pon opened a Chinese
laundry (717 Baker Street) and there was a Chinese Kitchen restaurant near the train station.
The Latino presence in East Bakersfield continued during the 1930s. A number of social
organizations, including the Comision Honorifca Mexican -Americana and the Mexican Aereo
Legion Club. The latter catered to Latinos with an interest in aviation. Members included
Alfonso H. Gonzales, Salvadore Rodriguez, and Alfred Sanchez. During the 1930s, a Lincoln
School teacher, Alfredo Chavez (1908-1991) was an important figure within the community.
Chavez was an advocate for Mexican cultural activities, music, and the arts. During the late
1930s, he hosted a local radio program called "Mexican Memories" on station KPMC.18
The Italian American Foundation became very active in the city during the 1930s. The group
held a multiplicity of events throughout the year including picnics, dances, lectures, and they
fielded a baseball team. The Foundation had no purpose-built meeting place and so held their
functions and meetings in various locations, such as St. Joseph's Hall, the Woman's Club, the
Eagles Hall, and private homes. The Foundation continued well into the 1950s.
According to the 1939 New World Year Book, a directory of Japanese Americans and their
businesses, the Japanese community in Bakersfield was centered in the area bordered by 23rd
Street and 19th Street, between O Street and L Street. A small cluster of Japanese also lived
around 25th and N streets. Two of the cultural institutions in the community were the
Buddhist Church and Japanese School (2207 N Street) and the Japanese M.E. Mission/M.E.
Japanese School (1016 22nd Street).
Map of Japanese businesses and residences, 1939. (1939 New World
Year Book)
"Chavez to Continue Large Fiesta Here," Bakersfield Californian, September 2, 1939, 9.
54
As of 1939, the community contained four markets, a drug store, hardware store, barber, and a
nursery. These enterprises were mostly concentrated south of 20th Street between L and M
streets. As was common for the period, many Japanese merchants lived behind or above the
shop, or in local rooming houses. In addition, the 1939 New World Year Book lists approximately
20 Japanese living in rural Bakersfield, likely as farmers, truck farmers, or farm hands on larger
farms.
Labor Strikes
Despite the Depression, working conditions for many people in and around Bakersfield were
oppressive. There were a number of labor strikes in the early 1930s and more in the later half of
the decade. These agricultural strikes were led by the workers of color. When Pedro Subia, a
Mexican striker, was murdered his funeral was held at the old Bakersfield City Hall. Workers
came from all the camps around Bakersfield in his honor.
Filipinos working in agricultural jobs around the valley also participated in these strikes. The
1930s census reveals a few dozen Filipinos living and working in Bakersfield proper. Unlike
other cultural groups who lived in enclaves, the Filipinos of Bakersfield appear to have been
more dispersed --renting rooms downtown and East Bakersfield. The majority of Filipinos living
in the city were employed in hospitality jobs related to hotels, hospitals, or restaurants. Early
religious and cultural organizations appear to have been centered in nearby Delano.
Infrastructure improvements continued to help Bakersfield feed California during the Great
Depression. In 1933, the state opened a new three -lane highway that eschewed the Tejon Pass
summit of the Ridge Route for the canyon and gorges of Piru Creek. It became known as the
"Ridge Route Alternative," or U.S. Route 99 (US 99), and shaved nine miles and 45 minutes off
the travel time. The new road was also at a much lower elevation than the Ridge Route and was
less susceptible to snowfall, while the original Ridge Route was effectively abandoned during
the winter months.
Bakersfield's experience through the Great Depression was unusual. Unlike most communities,
where building effectively halted, Bakersfield had enough economic activity to sustain
upgrades in commercial development and enough PWA/WPA projects to upgrade
infrastructure and other projects. A review of Bakersfield's built environment during the 1930s
tells a powerful story about the people and the place. Bakersfield architecture from this decade
reveals the influences of national and international architectural movements, along with some
quintessentially regional ideas. A generation of Kern County public schools bore the identifying
architectural language of these movements. Often under the umbrella of optimistic New Deal
programs, these new styles evoked confidence in institutions and infrastructure with a modern
twist. Downtown Bakersfield went upscale, transformed by escapist movie palaces and the
modernization of retail storefronts. Residential development continued apace as Bakersfield's
financial strength was reflected in the new homes commissioned by its professional class, many
of whom invested in avant-garde designs, including romantic adobe structures made modern
through their plan, materials, and construction techniques.
55
THEMES
THEME: Depression -Era Civic and Institutional Development
Despite economic struggles, improvements to Bakersfield did not completely halt in the years
between the Great Depression and World War II. Some institutional work continued during the
early years of the Depression as well. In 1931, Edwin Joseph Symmes designed the First Church
of Christian Science (220118th Street) in a hybrid Beaux Arts/Spanish Colonial Revival style.
The Great Depression was a difficult period for architects generally, and the Bakersfield
designers were no exception. AIA membership files from those practicing at the time include
correspondence regarding non-payment of dues because of lack of work. Yet, the city managed
to build more institutional, commercial, industrial, and residential projects than other cities of
similar size. Bakersfield architects definitely benefited from the PWA and WPA programs. The
Kern County Airport Hangar (3701 Wings Way) was the largest single -span hangar in
California at the time of its construction. Some 50 WPA men worked on the reinforced
concrete project that opened around 1937171
A number of WPA/PWA projects in Bakersfield were schools. In 1938, Greeley Elementary
School (6601 Enos Lane) was designed and constructed by Franklin & Kump. The same year,
East Bakersfield High School (2200 Quincy Street) was designed by Charles H. Biggar and
constructed by the PWA. Around the same time, Biggar also designed the PWA Moderne-style
Horace Mann School (2718 Niles Street).
Another highly visible project from this period was Charles H. Biggar's design for Harvey
Auditorium at Kern County High School. Biggar designed the auditorium in 1939 in the PWA
Moderne-style. During World War II, construction stopped due to a lack of materials. The
building was eventually completed in 1948 and dedicated to the memory of T.N. Harvey,
President of the Kern County Union High School District, who died in July of 1948.
Harvey Auditorium, rendering by Charles H. Biggar, and photograph as built. (Kern County Museum)
"' The Living New Deal, https://Iivingnewdeal.orgiprojects/kern-county-airport-hangar-bakersfield-ca/ (accessed June 16, 2022).
56
Two firehouse infrastructure projects were funded by the WPA during this period. The
Bakersfield Central Fire Station (a.k.a. Fire Station No. 1, 2101 H Street), designed by Charles
H. Biggar in the PWA Moderne style, was constructed in 1939.18o The East Bakersfield Fire
Station (a.k.a. Fire Station No. 2, 716 E. 21st Street), designed by Orville C. Clark, was
completed the following year. This period also saw the completion of the First Baptist Church
(1200 Truxtun Avenue) designed by Charles H. Biggar in a combination of the Mission Revival,
Romanesque, and Italian Renaissance Revival styles."'
Fire Station No. 1, as it appeared in 1945, and Fire Station No. 2, under construction in 1939-40.
(Kern County Museum)
Among the WPA projects was the construction of a cluster of buildings at O Street and Golden
State Avenue. There was a sizable adobe office building and some shops and storage buildings.
Adobe construction experienced something of a renaissance in Bakersfield during this period,
chiefly through the efforts of architect Clarence Cullimore, who advocated that adobe was a
suitable building material in Bakersfield due to its thermal properties.182 During this decade,
Cullimore would begin experimenting with adobe construction in his residential projects on and
around Oleander Avenue. He developed new technologies for strengthening its ability to
withstand earthquakes. After World War II, he submitted a master's thesis at USC on this topic
and was ultimately elevated to Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects (FAIR), not
for his architectural designs or role in education, but for his advances in modern adobe
technology.
The PWA also funded buildings for the Kern County Fair (Chester Avenue, two blocks north of
34th Street). There was even a separate WPA project to manufacture adobe blocks for public
works projects. Ingredients for adobe blocks were inexpensive and the process was labor
intensive, so it fit perfectly with efforts to employ more people during the Depression.
One of the most visible art works of the program is the statue of Father Garc6s, the first known
White man to reach Bakersfield in 1776, by the artist John Palo Kangas. Completed in 1939, the
"Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
"Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
12 Another adobe building built with federal WPA funds during this period was the Hart Park Ranger House by W. Francis Parsons in
1939, also known as the "Peacock House.- Hart Park itself was a W PA project. Between 1932 and 1938, up to 200 WPA workmen
re there building rock work, a swimming pool, roads, curbs and a large boat lake 1P An adobe restroom building was also
constructed. This project is outside the city limits of Bakersfield.
57
sculpture is carved from Indiana limestone on a Carnelean granite base and stands over 22 feet
tall. Its original location was as a prominent feature along U.S. Route 99. However in 1955, due
to the construction of the overpass, the statue was moved 55 feet away to its current location
at the southern edge of Garc6s Memorial Circle.183 It is California Historical Landmark No. 277.
THEME: Depression -Era Commercial Development
While the Depression was a difficult time financially for Bakersfield businesses, there was some
commercial building activity downtown during the early 1930s. The Spanish Colonial Revival -
style Fox Theater (2001 H Street) by S. Charles Lee, opened on Christmas day in 1930. In 1931,
architect Edward F. Sibbert, Jr. designed the new S.H. Kress Building (140119th Street).1B0 The
C.E. Houchin Building (2601 F Street) was designed by local architect Edwin J. Symmes around
1933-34. At about the same time, Symmes designed the Sholar & Sholar Grocery (18th and Eye
streets) for the Mattson Brothers, which was the first real supermarket in downtown
Bakersfield.
The Bakersfield Californian documents a number of commercial fa4ade modernizations during
the period as well. Despite the economic difficulties, many downtown merchants took the
opportunity to upgrade and remodel their older storefronts in the popular Moderne style of the
period. As Henry B. DeLacy, President of the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, wrote in
January of 1939:
Nineteen thirty eight hasgiven Bakersfield a most aggressive transformation in its
main business streets —Chester Avenue and 19th Street —in new buildings,
modernized and attractive exteriors and store fronts. The face of many of the old
structures have been lifted and modern treatment applied, and new buildings are
replacing the old antiquated structures —all of which gives Bakersfield the
appearance it deserves —that of a modern, progressive and prosperous city. ias
Bank of America rendering by Swasey & Hayne, and photograph upon completion in 1930. (Kern
County Museum)
"The Living New Deal, https://Iivingnewdeal.orgiprojects/garces-circle-statue-bakersfield-ca/ (accessed June lb, 2022).
" Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (no date).
° r "Chamber of Commerce Achieves Much in Year lust Past," Bakersfseld Californian, January 2, 1939, 18.
i', I .i.,'rr e
58
Another modern addition to the downtown area was the 1930 Bank of America building
(southwest corner of Chester Avenue and 20th Street) by architects Swasey & Hayne. The
PWA Moderne-style building dominated this important intersection.186 Around 1938, Charles
H. Biggar designed a Sears Roebuck department store for Bakersfield (131719th Street). In
1939-40, the main fa4ade of the Kern County Hall of Records (1655 Chester Avenue) was
modernized by local architect Frank Wynkoop.1BJ
When local businessman Hugh Sill was ready to build a commercial office building in
downtown Bakersfield for his successful agriculture business, he turned to the architects of his
Bakersfield home, Franklin & Kump. Kump's modern design sensibilities were fully flourishing
as the 1940 Sill Building (1500 18th Street) demonstrated. Its three horizontal bands of brick
seamlessly unite the west and south facades. The Sill Building was widely published in the
architectural trade magazines and revered architectural historian, David Gebhard, favorably
compared it with Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Wax Company Building.1ee The cantilevered
floor plates are key to the open plan of the offices.
Sill Building, 1940. (Sian Winship Private
Collection)
THEME: Depression -Era Industrial Development
Industrial development in Bakersfield was often tied to the petroleum or agriculture industry
and involved products or by-products of these businesses. One writer in 1939 commented on
'"Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (debate).
"Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (no date).
1 '-Bakersfield Built The 19305,' October 25, 2014, 18.
i. I r, I... I I I _ — :t I, I, r I T
59
the "smokestacks over Bakersfield today;' as evidence of the city's strong industrial economy.18'
The writer goes on to say that in 1930, there were 87 industrial plants in the city, and that by
1938 the number had increased to 200, employing some 3,500 people.190
Not all industrial development was related to oil or agriculture. In 1939, Bakersfield became the
new home of a 7-Up Bottling Co. plant (230 E. 18th Street). Designed by F.W. DeFoy (1887-
1954), the Streamline Moderne-style plant featured a central tower with a sign featuring the 7-
Up logo.
7-Up Bottling Co. Plant, no date. (R. Harrison)
Many of the light industrial buildings constructed during the period were not designed by
architects but rather by contractors. James F. Moore, a local general contractor, was a specialist
in industrial buildings and storefronts. Guy Hall, another Bakersfield contractor, operated his
business from a light industrial building (1326 30th Street).191
THEME: Depression -Era Residential Development
Although the issuance of building permits dipped to a historic low overall, a surprising number
of single-family residences were built in Bakersfield during this period. These Period Revival -
style homes were typically designed for professionals, such as doctors, dentists, and oil or
agriculture executives. Many of these homes can be found in the Oleander and
Westchester/Riviera neighborhoods of the city, with smaller, simpler houses built in La Cresta
Heights and the Alta Vista Tract in the bluffs northeast of the city.192
The go -to architect for many of these houses was local architect Clarence C. Cullimore, Sr.,
FAIA. Cullimore's own Spanish Colonial Revival -style residence and studio (101 S. Oleander
Avenue) was completed in 1930. Cullimore made an extensive study of the adobes of California,
traveling, sketching and drawing existing examples. He used the adobes as inspiration for both
the design and construction of his residential projects during this period, although he was
equally as facile working in other styles. Examples include the E.C. Zimmer Residence (527
1w'Preamble," Bakersfield Californian, December 9,1939,2.
10 'Preamble," Bakersfield Californian, December 9,1939,2.
191 Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
'"' Alta Vista and Le Cresta Heights were annexed'mto the City of Bakersfield during the 1940s.
60
Oleander Avenue) from 1937, said to have been the inspired by a whaling cottage; the adobe
Alfred Ames Residence (2929 21st Street) from 1932; the adobe Chase Residence (2123 1st
Street) in 1935; the Dorrance Residence (2115 1st Street) from 1937; the American Colonial
Revival -style Dr. McKee Residence (303121st Street) from 1936; and the Spanish Colonial
Revival -style Johnson Residence (629 Holtby Road) from 1935. Cullimore's work, especially his
use of modern adobe construction, was widely published in California Arts+ Architecture, and
Architect and Engineer.
The Sill Residence (3108 20th Street), designed for Hugh Sill in 1937, is a rare residential
project by Franklin & Kump. Ernest Kump, Jr. (1911-1999), son of architect Ernest Kump, Sr.,
was born in Bakersfield and studied architecture at Kern County High School under Cullimore.
Charles Franklin hired the younger Kump in 1937 and they established an architectural
partnership.
It wasn't just local architects, however, that found work in Bakersfield during the 1930s. Frank
and Kay Davis visited Richard J. Neutra's small exhibit on the International Style at Bullock's
Wilshire in Los Angeles, mounted as a follow up to Neutra's participation in the seminal
Museum of Modern Art show in 1932. After their visit, the Davis'sought out Neutra to build
them a modern house in Bakersfield. Frank Davis was the area distributor for Norwalk
Gasoline. The Davis Residence (2914 21st Street) featured all the trademarks of the
International Style —alternating bands of stucco and horizontal groupings of identical
commercial steel casement and fixed windows."' In 1947, Frank Davis returned to Neutra to
have him design a service station, Norwalk Gas Station (800 Oak Street).
Davis Residence, as photographed by Julius Shulman. (Getty Research Institute)
v, Minor additions to the rear of the house were made by local architect Frank Gheuu during his ownership of the property.
61
CONTEXT: Bakersfield During World War 11,1941-1945
Declaring that a state of war exists between the imperial government of Japan
and the government and people of the United States and making provisions to
prosecute same.
U.S. Congress Declaration of War,
December 8, 1941
Like many communities, Kern County was touched by the war effort. In 1941, Minter Field in
nearby Shafter was constructed as a flight -training center for the U.S. Army, ultimately
graduating more than 11,000 flyers.194 During this period, the City of Bakersfield also developed
its share of war -related industries, from manufacturing ammunitions boxes to the production
of K-rations for military use. The 19th Street USO (419 19th Street) provided social activities
and entertainment for the servicemen working at the Lamont POW Camp and other
servicemen from nearby Muroc Air Force Base.
In June of 1943, the Kern County Dehydrating Company opened in Bakersfield. It was the
largest plant of its kind on the Pacific coast, processing more than 50,000 tons of Kern County
vegetables per year, including potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, and cabbage.19'
Using the old Bakersfield Packing Company building (1016 E. Brundage Lane) as a base for
expansion, the company actively recruited women not already employed in the defense
industry, employing more than 500 workers at its peak.
In early 1943, George Haberfelde negotiated a lease for his Bakersfield Ice Arena (423 Golden
State Avenue) with Burbank -based Vega Aircraft. The Vega plant produced sub -assembly parts
for B-17 bombers. Lockheed also occupied a 23,000-square-foot warehouse building (426
California Avenue).196 By late 1943, when Lockheed and Vega merged, the company was
operating additional sub -assembly plants in Oildale and Taft. Hiring for the Bakersfield Vega
plant was managed by the United States Employment Service office (1300 Seventeenth
Street).
Japanese American Incarceration
Within hours of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 by the Empire of Japan,
prominent Japanese American businessmen, clergy, school teachers, and others declared by the
U.S. government to be enemy aliens were rounded up in FBI sweeps. On February 18, 1942,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that authorized the Secretary of
War and any military commander designated by him "to prescribe military areas from which
'"Maynard, Bakersfield. A Centennial Portrait 70.
19 -Big Plant Sets April Openin&' Bakersfield Californian, February 16,1943, 7.
19 -Bakersfield to Get Its First Industry of 1963," Bakersfield Californian, January 16, 1963, 1.
62
any or all persons may be excluded"197 Although the order did not specify the exclusion of
Japanese Americans, the intention was clear.'"
As in many cities, some Bakersfield residents fell victim to mass hysteria associated with the
Japanese. In January of 1942, Kern County officials began investigating Japanese who had
placed land titles in the names of their Japanese American children who were not barred from
owning land. A month later, the newspapers were atwitter with concerns about a growing
Japanese population in Bakersfield who had relocated there in an effort to move away from
coastal areas.
In May of 1942, many of Bakersfield's Japanese American residents were evacuated to Parker,
Arizona. Members of the local Japanese Citizens League pledged their loyalty to the city and
the country and vowed to return in an open letter published in the Bakersfield Californian.
George Ogata, Raymond Tatsuno, Nellie Mitai, Marion Uyetani, and Edith Takahashi all signed
the letter."'
The Chinese community also suffered from anti-Japanese sentiment. In oral histories
presented in the book The Chineseof Kern County, 1857-1960, community members
remembered making and wearing badges and car signs that identified them as Chinese to avoid
personal and property violence against them.
Lamont Prisoner of War Branch Camp
During World War II, with 15 million Americans having been called into military service,
agricultural labor was scarce. The labor shortage was particularly acute for Kern County
farmers whose harvesting was hand -labor intensive. The U.S. Army came up with an unusual
solution; it brought German prisoners of war (POWs) from England to America to fill the labor
gap.
Thousands of German POWs were brought to America and housed in camps in the South,
Southwest, and California. The nearest POW camp to Bakersfield was Camp Cooke (on the
current site Vandenberg Air Force Base). With the long commute, the Army established a
series of "branch camps," including sixteen for Camp Cooke, so that the POWs could be closer
to their work. Two branch camps were established in Kern County: one in Shafter, housing 650
German prisoners, and another approximately seventeen miles from Bakersfield to serve the
Arvin -Greenfield -Panama region.
The seventh branch camp for Camp Cooke, the Lamont Branch Camp was established in
December of 1944 at the five -acre site of a federal labor camp on Di Giorgio Road, behind
Ribier Market. Over 40 wooden barracks were constructed to house the prisoners. Other
buildings included mess halls, a chapel, laundry, and shower facilities for up to 1,000 men. The
acreage was enclosed by barbed wire with four guard towers at the corners of the rectangular
lot. The facility was commanded by Captain C.W. Chappell. The prisoners harvested whatever
seasonal crop was available: potatoes, cotton, tomatoes, grapes, or sugar beets. Farmers were
91 Brian Nilya,'Executive Order 9066, in Densho Encyclopedia, accessed January 9, 2017.
'"City of Los Angeles, Office of Historic Resources, Japanese Americans in Los Angeles, 1869-1970, August 2018, 50.
1°'Japs Send Message," Bakersfield Californian, May 23, 1942, 1;2.
M.
responsible for training the workers, while guards from Lamont supervised. In June of 1945 it
held 945 prisoners; by September 1945, there were some 600 prisoners, many from the German
expeditionary force known as the Afrika Korps.100
Barracks at the Lamont Camp, August 31, 1945.) (Bakersfield
Californian)
Local farmers formed associations that employed a coordinator who routed the labor on a daily
basis. The farmers paid current farm labor wages to the government, and the government, in
turn, gave each laborer 80 cents in camp currency.
The prisoners were credited with saving the cotton crop of 1945 and local farmers requested
additional prisoner help in fall of that same year. Later that year, the German prisoners were
returned to Camp Cooke at Lamont and were replaced with Japanese POWs and a few Korean
prisoners. At this time, Lamont Camp staff was succeeded by individuals experienced in dealing
with Japanese prisoners, including Major Paul Johnson, the commanding officer. The Lamont
Camp was also headquarters for two other branch camps in California.
In October 1945, Lamont was turned over to the base POW Camp at the Pomona Ordinance
Depot in Pomona, California. Camp Lamont was officially closed on March 23, 1946. In January
of 1954, 47 buildings from the Lamont POW Camp were put up for sale to nearby farmers as
"suitable for storage or other farm needs."201 Many were presumably relocated to sites in and
around Bakersfield.
The War Effort: Labor and Materials Shortage
With men called to the service, Southern California women were often employed to fill open
positions in the defense plants traditionally held by men. These "Rosie the Riveters" were less
commonplace in Bakersfield. An article in the Bakersfield Californian from 1941, describing the
employment of women in places like Los Angeles and Long Beach, suggested this line of
employment was not suitable for the city's women.302 However, the reality of labor shortages
1ru Jeffrey E. Geiger, German prisoners of War at Camp Cooke, (Mechanicsburg, PA; Sunbury Press, Inc. 2018), 194.
30''Classifed Ad'4) Bmbdings," Bakersfield Californian, January 8, 1954, 35.
"'Girl Cab Drivers, Messengers Appear," Bakersfield Californian, July 18,1941, 9.
,.. r, ,.. I , I _ I I •.:.I,..1 ' p q I
64
began to set in and the Bakersfield employers such as the Santa Fe Railroad, taxi companies,
banks, and the local post office began hiring women. By 1942, Kern County Union High School
established a mechanical arts class especially for women.301
Running counter to this trend, Bakersfield police hired their first policewoman in 1941. Mary
Holman Dodge (1912-2006) was born in Bakersfield, daughter of a local blacksmith, and
graduated from Bakersfield Junior College in 1933. The local League of Women Voters
pressured the police force to hire a woman officer. Mary worked traffic and juvenile details, and
was later promoted to Lieutenant.204
One of the challenges facing the Bakersfield police department during Dodge's early tenure
was the Zoot Suit movement. The wearing of baggy Zoot Suits became popular among young
men of color, and popularized by entertainers like Cab Calloway. Servicemen and many other
people viewed the profligate use of fabric in making the suits was anti-American and a waste of
wartime resources. This resulted in a number of violent clashes with an underpinning of racism.
In June of 1943, Los Angeles experienced a series of incidents that became known as the "loot
Suit Riots." On June 11th, 200 zoot-suiters participated in several disturbances at the Kentucky
Street carnival in East Bakersfield.$0' No arrests were made.
Like many cities, building in Bakersfield practically ceased during World War II, as Americans
focused on the war effort and labor and materials shortages were the norm. Only two building
permits were issued in Kern County in 1941, no permits in 1942, three permits in 1943, and 37
permits in 1944.208 While the war effort brought economic stability to the region, it did not
bring a significant increase in population. In 1940, the population of the greater Bakersfield area
was estimated at 74,000. By the close of the war, it had increased less than ten percent.2m
However, by the end of 1944, the City of Bakersfield reported the beginning of a local building
boom, with more than 60 residential permits issued in December alone, compared with just 80
permits during the preceding 11 months of the year.10'
During this period, African Americans continued to be restricted to living primarily in the
Sunset/Mayflower area. Those who could afford to buy were unable to obtain bank loans and
typically bought "on contract." Buying on contract was a predatory loan practice, in which
predominantly White owners (often real estate agents) "sold" a home on a rent -to -own basis
and title was never officially transferred.E' One such broker who operated in the
Sunset/Mayflower neighborhood was Claude Blodgett (1878-1972). He sold real estate in the
city from 1918 until the early 1970s. He was a member of the Bakersfield Board of Realtors and
developed Tract 1286/Mayflower Annex adjacent to the Mayflower area.110
'or -School Shop Course for Girls Lauded," Bakersfield Californian, December 16, 1942, 9.
10' Mary Holmand Dodge Interview by Betty Parker, October 23,1977, California State College, Bakersfield.
p''Police Quell Near -Riot by 200 Zoot Suit Enthusiasts," Sakearield Califomlon, June 12, 1943, 1,
06-October Building Hits Five- Year Record High; Bakersfield Californian, November 7, 1945, 9.
1p' JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield A rea, 1945-1973, 8.
10p JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Area, 1945-1973, 9.
$09 Donato Cruz, "America's Newest City: 1950s Bakersfield and the Making of the Modern Suburban Segregated Landscape,"
Master of Art History, California State University, Bakersfield, 2020, 50-51.
"0 Donato Cruz, "America's Newest City: 19505 Bakersfield and the Making of the Modern Suburban Segregated Landswpq"
Master of Art History, California State University, Bakersfield, 2020, 50-51,
65
In 1944, Elmer Karpe, a White real estate agent, developed new homes in the Mayflower area
with a new twist on restrictive covenants: homes were not to be sold to White buyers, only
African Americans 2" They were located in Block 10 of the Mayflower Addition bordered by
Graham Street to the north, Texas Street to the South, Nixon Street to the east, and Augusta
Street to the west. They numbered some 48 parcels in total.212 Johnie Mae Parker, an author
and activist, credited Karpe with causing 'white flight" in the Mayflower neighborhood as a
result of the development covenant E13
De facto segregation during this period extended beyond residential exclusion. Users of Central
Park (present-day Centennial Park) were almost exclusively African American and were the
only ones to use the pool there. Black moviegoers were also relegated to the balconies of the
Fox and Californian theaters.$1°It was also during this period that five men met at a Basque
restaurant in Bakersfield and formed the Kern County Basque Club. Established in 1944, the
club sponsored cultural events in the community.2" Early leaders of the club included John
Ansolabehere, Frank Maitia, Sr., Felix Etcheverry, Raymond Castanchoa, and Inocencio Jaurena.
THEMES
THEME: Wartime Civic and Institutional Development
Soon after Pearl Harbor, Kern County High School established classes designed to prepare
students for war work. During the 1930s, the high school and Bakersfield Junior College had
embraced aviation, offering classes in related mechanics and spawning a young student
aviators club. By March of 1941, 187 former students of these two institutions were employed
in aircraft factories throughout California.$16 It is likely that this vocational training program was
an influential factor in Lockheed/Vega's decision to open the plant in Bakersfield.
Regardless, the educators had powerful alliances with the manufacturers. By 1944, Vultee was
providing an actual dive -bomber, the Vultee Vengeance, for the Advanced Aviation Mechanics
class to work on. These classes took place at a hangar at the Kern County Airport leased by the
school district. However, not all aviation mechanics classes were located off campus; an army
liaison plane, a Taylor Craft L-2A, was housed in the Mechanical Arts Building (14th and F
Streets) where boys learned repairs and maintenance.
THEME: Wartime Commercial Development
Currently, there is little evidence that there was significant commercial development in the city
during the World War II period. A review of the Bakersfield Californian suggests that the city's
prewar commercial development was sufficient to sustain the community during a period
characterized by shortages and rationing. In other smaller communities, such as nearby
Tehachapi, some commercial development occurred.
"' Elmer F. and Florence J. Karpe,'Block Restrictions: Mayflower Block 10"City Hall Records (14018133) July 25, 194q 21-22.
"'Only Two Weeks Old; Bakersfield Californian, March 23, 1940, no page.
ma Johnie Mae Parker, How Long? Not Long! The Battle to End Poverty in Bakersfield, (Bakersfield, CA: Joh nie Mae Parker, 1987), 2.
11' Giblert Peter Ge, Race, Sports and Black Unity, 1875-1988, 162-163.
"Mary Grace Paquette, Books to Bakersfield, (Bakersfield, CA: Kern County Historical Society), 93.
216'Airplane Work is Lauded By Boys From KCU HE," Bakersjleki Californian, March 18,1941, 8.
66
THEME: Wartime Industrial Development
In addition to the location of major defense companies like Lockheed/Vega, the Kern County
Chamber of Commerce organized an industrial council. In 1941, a plan by San Jose -based
Harrison B. Judd attempted to organize and pool small industrial shops'skills and facilities for
defense production. Judd conducted a survey, the purpose of which was to determine how
small manufacturing facilities could be combined to offer competitive bids for defense
contracts. It is currently unknown which, if any Bakersfield industrial organizations participated
or how successful this plan may have been.
THEME: Wartime Residential Development
As with many cities, residential development in Bakersfield ground to a veritable standstill
during World War II. Existing housing stock was sufficient to support the small increases in
population described above. What was not sufficient, however, was housing for war workers
who came to Bakersfield and Kern County during the period.
The Housing Authority of the County of Kern was founded to supply temporary housing to
people who relocated to the area for temporary employment in the late 1930s. During the
1940s, construction focused on war worker housing. Projects included Santa Fe Homes (2617 B
Street) that offered 50 units. Another, the Rio Vista Homes (517 Roberts Lane/McArthur Drive
and Wainwright Drive), offered 60 units. Adelante Vista (1107 Matthew Henson Drive) offered
50 units, beginning in 1942 and housed primarily African Americans.
Adelante Vista under construction, circa 1942. (Housing Authority of the County of Kern)
67
CONTEXT: Postwar Prosperity and Expansion,1946-1952
As Bakersfield music began to evolve in the 1950s, so did the life of the
established Okie. A strong economy.. and the freewheeling honky-tonk narrative
so common in West Coast country music —a reflection of a more confident and
strongly defined Okie culture —was something postwar America was ready to
embrace. The result was one of those rare confluences of people, place, and time,
a melding of talent, opportunity and purpose that built Bakersfield into a city
transformed by music.217
Robert E. Price, The Bakersfield Sound
The end of World War II signaled a period of long-awaited peace, prosperity, and optimism for
the United States. In many ways, California was the symbolic and tangible benefactor of these
ideals. Returning GIs flocked to the sunny state to start families and partake in the economic
boom. However, no matter where they went they were met with a serious housing shortage,
including in Bakersfield.
To help ease this crisis, the federal government established the 1944 Servicemen's
Readjustment Act, known as the "G.I. Bill." The G.I. Bill provided residential mortgages to
returning servicemen, administered by the Veterans Administration (VA), whose requirements
closely paralleled the guidelines of the FHA program. The net result was that veterans could
combine the two mortgage vehicles, thus eliminating the need for any down -payment. Also, in
mid-1946, Congress passed the Veterans Emergency Housing Act (VEHA) that expedited the
availability of housing for veterans by providing private industry subsidies for construction
materials as a way of addressing materials shortages.
As a third strategy for kick-starting housing production, the FHA provided incentives for large-
scale builders of residential subdivisions in the form of governmental credit and financial
subsidies that made the construction of homes, not just the subdivision of land, more
profitable. Thus, a new class of "merchant builders" was born that transformed California's
vacant land into suburban housing tracts for the everyman. Closer to home, in 1943 Kern
County established the Postwar Planning Council to address the housing shortage and plan for
growth on a local basis. However, its efficacy was likely limited as the Council was disbanded by
the end of 1945.
California Way of Life
Peace, prosperity, and optimism fueled California's architectural design even before the war
ended. Architecture and design magazines, as well as popular media and newspapers, fueled
consumer demand for the "California way of life." Reliant upon the state's temperate climate,
architects evolved the ideas of modern design from before the war into a full-blown movement
of Mid -Century Modernism. Inspired by Southern California's aerospace industry, architects
01 Robert E. Price, The Bakersfield Sound, (Berkeley, CA: Heyday, 2018). 27.
68
incorporated new methods and materials into their projects, resulting in one of the most
experimental periods of avant-garde architectural design.
Many of these projects received widespread acclaim in the national trade and popular media,
thus reinforcing the promise and appeal of California living. One of the leading architectural
trade magazines of the period, Arts +Architecture, sponsored the highly influential Case Study
House Program to encourage experiments in American residential architecture. Founded by
magazine editor John Entenza, the Program lasted from 1945 until the 1966 and produced 36
residential designs 26 built projects. Southern California's most innovative and avant-garde
architects were invited to design and construct a house that would be open for display to the
public prior to being sold. Participating architects included Richard J. Neutral, Raphael Soriano,
Craig Ellwood, Rodney Walker, J.R. Davidson, Jones and Emmons, and Charles and Ray Eames.
The designs were experienced in person by thousands of visitors, and by millions more through
the art photography of Julius Shulman, transforming a number of these houses into popular
icons of Modern Movement.
While the Case Study House Program was perhaps the most innovative of these programs,
newspapers, magazines and construction products sponsored hundreds of smaller but similar
showcase home projects. It was against this backdrop that veterans and their wives viewed the
tract developments that sprang up in the former fields and citrus groves throughout California.
While the FHA and VA programs often restricted the use of some modern design elements —
such as flat roofs —the large subdivisions of California Ranch homes often incorporated large
expanses of glass, open plans, and other modern elements into their more traditional designs.
Still other architects turned to prefabrication ideas to solve the housing crisis. Cliff May and
Chris Choate's Ranch House Supply Corporation was one of the few architect -owned
companies that was successful. By 1954, it was demonstrated that the houses could be erected
by two carpenters and two laborers in one day."'
In 1949, Kern County reported that most of the 34 new subdivisions recorded with the County
that year were in and around Bakersfield. Thus, the value of Bakersfield's agricultural land was
now clearly established: the new bumper crop would be houses.
Bakersfield Architects and the USC School
In addition to providing low/no cost home mortgage loans to veterans, the G.I. Bill also offered
former servicemen the opportunity to continue their education. By providing generous tuition
relief for college study, the G.I. Bill enabled hundreds of thousands of veterans to earn
university degrees. Among them were scores of Kern County High School graduates who had
studied architecture with Clarence Cullimore, Sr. An entire generation of former Cullimore
students used the G.I. Bill to fund or continue with their architectural education. Many of them
turned to the University of Southern California School of Architecture, where they could now
apply G.I. Bill funds to their tuition.
"' Katie papineau, "The Carefree Californian: Cliff May Homes 1952-1958y in Carefree California. Cliff May and the Romance of
the Ranch House (N V, Rizzoli, 2012), 18T
M.
Even prior to World War Il, USC had transformed its architecture curriculum from the
traditional Beaux Arts style of education to one that embraced modern design and
contemporary problem -solving. The Beaux Arts system was derived from the Ecole des Beaux
Arts in Paris which involved copying Classical orders of columns, designing in Classical styles
informed by the Greeks and Romans, and creating studio designs based on elaborate or fanciful
projects, such as for the wealthy nobility. Prior to the war, USC Dean Arthur C. Weatherhead
was one of the first to reform college curriculum, teach modern design, and anticipate real -
world problems, such as low-income housing or the postwar house. With the arrival of Dean
Arthur Galion, the program abandoned any vestiges of the Beaux Arts and set about delivering
a practical curriculum that would train the next generation of modern architects.
It was into this environment that a steady pipeline of talented Cullimore students marched,
many of whom excelled. They included Allan Choy, William Paynter, Loren Durr, Clifford
Harding, Eugene Hougham, and Clarence Culliomore, Jr. At USC, they were trained in the ways
of post -and -beam construction. In the summers and after graduation, they inevitably returned
to Bakersfield where they were employed and mentored by local architects in practice, as the
postwar housing shortage and building boom in Bakersfield meant there was plenty of work for
local firms.
By later 1952, there would be even more work for local architects. Two major earthquakes hit
the city, laying waste to its downtown, the majority of which had been built during the early
boom years and thus was constructed of unreinforced masonry or hollow -clay tile. Many
buildings that did not immediately fall down in the first tremor were so structurally
compromised that they collapsed during the second one, or during one of a series of large
aftershocks. All told, these events rendered hundreds of buildings throughout Bakersfield
uninhabitable.
The Bakersfield Sounds: A National Identity for the City
Bakersfield is known to millions of Americans as the birthplace of country music's "Bakersfield
Sound." As a result, the city became known to many as "Nashville West." Enabled by the Dust
Bowl migration of Okies during the 1930s, the development of the Fender Telecaster guitar,
and the continued hard -scrabble life of migrant workers and their descendants, the city
produced a wave of distinctive country music that was twangier, sharper, and more raw than
what was being produced by the commercial treadmill of Nashville in the 1950s. The Sound
was fostered both by Bakersfield natives, and some transplants, who found local inspiration and
audiences for their music.
One of the most visible proponents of the Bakersfield Sound was Buck Owens (1929-2006).
Owens moved to Bakersfield in 1951, formed a band with the Buckaroos, and began performing
in the city's dozens of honky-tonks. Between 1963 and 1967, Owens had nineteen No.1 hit
songs on the Billboard Country Chart. He also was a studio musician in Los Angeles, and
eventually he parlayed appearances on local Bakersfield television shows into appearing on the
nationally syndicated show Hee Haw, and ultimately into his own Buck Owen's Ranch Show.
Early residences for Owens included 206 Harding Avenue and 204 Jones Street. During the late
1960s and mid-1970s, Owens lived at 309 Panorama Drive.
I 11, , i I,:. y.Y.. J, ,,
70
Another Bakersfield Sound legend, Merle Haggard (1937-2016). Born in the nearby town of
Oildale, Haggard had 38 No.1 songs between 1966 and 1987. His hard edges were in part the
result of a stint in San Quentin Prison after breaking into Fred & Gene's Cafe (3317 State Road)
in 1957. Haggard also entertained in the multitude of Bakersfield honky-tonks. Haggard and his
band, the Strangers, recorded with local label, Tally Records, before securing a contract with
Capitol Records. "Hag's boxcar," the small house he grew up in, was originally situated about
250 feet from the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks; it now sits at the Kern County Museum.
Haggard credited the house with being the influence for many of his classic songs."" During the
1970s, Haggard lived at 18200 Highway 178.
Bakersfield enjoyed a lively club scene during the 1950s. The Blackboard (3801 Chester
Avenue) was the most famous of them, welcoming all of the entertainers associated with the
Bakersfield Sound. Joe Limi and Frank Zabaleta bought the small restaurant in 1949,
demolished it, and built it back bigger and better. The Blackboard featured a mirrored bar,
jukebox, wooden dance floor, and shuffleboard table. Frequent performers included Tommy
Collins, Fuzzy Owen, Lewis Talley, Billy Mize, Bonnie Owens, Jean Shepard, Wanda Jackson,
Roy Nichols, and Red Simpson. The Blackboard closed in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
The Lucky Spot (2302 Edison Highway) was another one of the clubs where Merle Haggard
entertained early in his career and "where the Bakersfield sound was forged ""p The Clover Club
(2611 Edison Highway), operated by Thurman Billings, was another one of the clubs along
Edison Highway. Tex's Barrel House (1524 Golden State Highway) took its name from a
building at oil refineries that store refined oil awaiting transport. The Rainbow Gardens (2301
South Union Avenue), situated along the Highway 99 Tourist Corridor (see below) attracted
out-of-town talent including Bob Wills and Lefty Frizzell as well as locals like Ferlin Husky.
Another important club was Trout's (805 N. Chester Avenue).
Another important contributing factor to the popularity of the Bakersfield Sound and its
associated singers, songwriters, and musicians was local television and radio stations. In the
late 1940s, Herbert "Cousin Herb" Lester Henson started a live daily musical program on
Bakersfield -based station KERO-TV known as Cousin Herb's Trading Post. Another rival
program was The Jimmy Thomason Show. Local radio station KUZZ Studios (910 Chester
Avenue) broadcast country music, and specifically the Bakersfield Sound, beginning in 1960.
The radio station's call letters, KIKK, were changed to KUZZ to play on the popularity of
"Kuzzin Herb."
A number of local record labels were created to foster the Bakersfield Sound. They included
Mar-Vel, Grande, Kord, Global, Pike, Rose, Stereoscope, Super Sonic, Three -Star, Hillcrest,
Bakersfield, and Talley Records. Talley Records Studio was originally established at 601 E. 18th
Street by Lewis Talley and Charles Fuzzy Owen in 1954. Around 1955, Talley Records was
located at 911 Baker Street. In 1957, Talley built a new recording studio his backyard at 419
Hazel Street."' The Bakersfield Civic Auditorium (1001 Truxtun Avenue) was also an important
era Robert E. Price, The Bake"feld5ound, (Berkeley, CA'. Heyday, 2018), 228.
a'" Robert E. Price, The Bakers(Ield Sound, (Berkeley, CA: Heyday), 2018, 231.
'r Louie Talley also operated coffee shops around town, including the Louis Talley CaM (2111 Edison Highway).
71
site for the Bakersfield Sound. In 1963, Capitol Records recorded the Country Music
Hootenanny album, live, featuring Collins, Owens, Haggard, and many other local musicians.
Although Owens and Haggard are the most well-known musicians associated with the
Bakersfield Sound, there were other many others that played important roles in the movement.
They include singer/songwriter Tommy Collins, singer Bonnie Owens, musician Red Simpson,
entertainer Bill Woods, and musician Ferlin Husky, all of whom were Bakersfield residents.
Tommy Collins lived at 2600 21st Street.
Early Civic Unity Activism
Poverty in the neighborhoods around Bakersfield was linked to the substandard living
conditions experienced by many farmworkers. The Kern County farmworker population of the
late 1940s was multi -racial and included African American migrants from Texas, Arkansas, and
Oklahoma, as well as Whites, Mexicans, and Mexican Americans.22'
During the immediate postwar years, the Kern Council for Civic Unity (KCCU) was formed to
address civil rights in Bakersfield and beyond. The KCCU drew significantly on the larger efforts
of the California Federation for Civic Unity (CFCU). In January 1950, CFCU leader Rabbi
Sanford Rosen of Temple Beth El (2905 Loma Linda Drive) highlighted the difficulty of
organizing the KCCU.
Another driving force against discrimination and segregation was the Greater Bakersfield
Ministerial Association. Their key issue was to ban the display of discriminatory signage in
restaurants and businesses. Led by Rev. Lynn Wood of the First Methodist Church, Rev. John
Whiteneck, Jr. of the First Congregational Church, and the local NAACP chapter secretary
Clara Howard, they lobbied City Council to pass Ordinance 860 on February 14, 1950. They
lobbied for a similar practice with the Kern County Board of Supervisors. In addition to the
Greater Bakersfield Ministerial Association, the NAACP was instrumental in instituting the
ban. President H.H. Collins and Clara Howard lead the fight for that organization. Another
important civil rights organization formed in Bakersfield during the late 1940s was the
Mexican -American Community Service Organization (CSO).:an
Expanded public housingwas another key issue that mobilized urban civil rights groups in
Bakersfield. In March 1953, a heated political battle emerged regarding the construction of the
Oro Vista Housing Project. A local referendum on Measure 4, which expanded city services into
communities without them and rezoned areas for public housing, was defeated, but this did not
affect the legal mandate between the Kern Housing Authority and the City of Bakersfield. It did
delay the project, however.
oz Oliver A. Rosales, 'Civil Rights'beyond the Fields," in Civil Rights and Beyond, ed. Brian D. Behnken (Athens, GA: University of
Georgia press, 2016), 44.
"' Although some sources credit Cesar Chavez with the founding of the Bakersfield chapter of the C50, the Caldomlan indicates
the C50 was active in Bakersfield proper in 1955—before Chavez would have been associated with the organization.
I i -I „b 1 OF41 I
72
Sunset -Mayflower and the Lakewood Avenue Music Scene
During the late 1940s, the impoverished conditions of the Sunset -Mayflower district outside
the city raised concerns in Bakersfield. Slum clearance efforts were reinstated after the war. On
February 22, 1945, the Sunset -Mayflower Progressive Club was formed by the area's African
American residents, with Ben Fields as the founding President. The club's purpose was to
advocate for physical improvements to the area —such as sidewalks, streetlights, sewers,
garbage pick-up, and other infrastructure. The Club also worked for annexation into the City of
Bakersfield.
By the mid-1940s, the district's population was estimated at 3,500 residents —the majority of
which were living in substandard housing conditions."° Some families had adaptively reused
abandoned railroad cars for shelter. It was estimated that there were approximately 1,700
dwellings in the area, with 1,300 of them substandard."' Newspaper accounts suggested the
boundaries of the area generally ran from E. California Avenue to the north, Brundage Lane to
the south, the railroad tracks to the east, and Union Avenue to the west. In early 1951,
annexation efforts were successful and Sunset -Mayflower became part of the city proper. The
impact of the annexation can be seen by comparing the 1950 and 1960 population of African
Americans: 1,495 in 1950 and 8,218 in 1960.
That same year, Franklin H. Williams reported on the living conditions at Sunset -Mayflower for
the NAACP magazine, The Crisis. Williams stated, "In all of my experience as an NAACP
worker throughout the deep South, I have never seen conditions as dreadful and unsanitary,
and depressing as those under which thousands of Negro migrant workers have to live on the
outskirts of Bakersfield."2' Williams indicated that there was no sanitation and no lighting in
the area populated by approximately 10,000 Black residents.
A study of the 1950 U.S. Census for the Sunset/Mayflower neighborhood reveals that the
majority of African American men were employed as farm laborers. Black women who worked
were engaged primarily as domestic servants. However, the census reveals that many of those
living in the area were unemployed.
Discussion of how to resolve the substandard housing conditions in Sunset -Mayflower were a
hot topic of the mid-1950s. Some advocated for low-income housing projects such as the five -
acre, 50-unit Adelante Vista (1405 E. California Avenue), built in 1941 by the Kern County
Housing Authority, and Rio Vista (McArthur Drive and Wainwright Drive) in 1942. Rio Vista
was designed by Charles H. Biggar and Ernest L. McCoy. In 1953, the first 70 units of the Oro
Vista Housing Project (1104 S. Robertson St.) opened its doors. Concerns that application
requirements were too high for area residents to meet, community advocates expressed
outrage.
Another approach to quickly remediating the substandard housing in the area were plans to
bring in surplus dwellings from the emergency houses built by the Public Housing
°''City Planners Approve Two Annexation Proposals;' Bakersfield Califb iaq March 10, 1949, 19.
os'Rapid Rehab Work Said Remarkablep Bakersfield Calift ian, December 31, 1953, 40.
"' Franklin H. Williams. 'The Bakersfield Community," The Crisis, vPl. 58, no 4. (April 1951). 231.
73
Administration during World War II. Two different developers attempted this approach. The
first attempt resulted in just three of the houses being established by Texas -based Bishop
Brothers. The second attempt was met with resistance by the city planning department and
local contractors because the homes did not meet the current Bakersfield building code.
Although two sample houses were erected at Brundage Lane and Bliss Street in August 1954,
they were rejected by Kern County Officials and ordered to be dismantled.
A lesser known, but no less important set of venues within the Black community were the bars
and music clubs that lined Lakewood Avenue (present-day Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard)
between East California Avenue and Brundage Lane. These clubs were part of the commercial
district that served the Sunset -Mayflower district populated by African Americans.
Lakeview Avenue was the center of the Black community's nightlife. The clubs attracted big -
name African American performers from the Chitlin' Circuit. The clubs included Mom's Place
(515 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard); Delwood Cafe (619 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard);
Pastime Club (621 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard); Ruby's Place (625 Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard); the Blue Note Cafe (508 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard); and the Cotton Club
(624 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard). Performers at these clubs included Little Richard, Fats
Domino, B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, Etta James, the Platters, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Nat
King Cole, Wilson Pickett, Ike Turner, and others. By the early 1970s, the Lakeview clubs began
to disappear. The Delwood Cafe was destroyed by fire.
The Lakewood area was also home to other Black -owned businesses including barbershops,
liquor stores, service stations, and grocery stores, including Jerry's Grocery (502 Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard). However, the period after the war proved to be one that limited the
demand for Black farm labor. The U.S. government implemented the Bracero program, which
allowed valley farmers to hire seasonal guest labor from Mexico. At the same time, mechanized
cotton harvesters and chemical defoliants limited the role of humans in cotton harvesting. In
1958, mechanical cotton harvesters picked less than 40 percent of the cotton in the San
Joaquin Valley. By the mid-1960s, almost no cotton was picked by hand, impacting the fortunes
of the local African American community."'
Highway 99 Entertainment and Tourist Corridor
By 1952, a three-mile stretch of Union Avenue was home to 23 motels, 29 restaurants, and 44
gas stations or automotive repair shops. Many of these businesses had neon signs to attract
the passing motorists that gave the area a "Vegas -like" feel. Some called it `The Broadway of
Bakersfield.""e The Highway 99 Tourist Corridor had its roots in early automobile culture.
During the 1920s, the automobile supplanted the railroad as the preferred means of vacation
transportation. In the 1920s, the automobile was the leading consumer product in the country
and by 1925 there was one automobile for every six Americans."' The automobile and the
freedom it represented touched the American spirit of individualism and exploration. The new
" Michael Essinger, "The Transplantation of African Americans and Cotton Culture...," 13,
or Robert E. price, The Bakersfield Sound, (Berkeley, CA: Heyday), 2018, 55-56.
cr Calvin Coolidge paper;°Transportation—General 1923-28: Automobiles and the Highways; Library of Congress, American
Memory Collection.
74
"motor -tourist" —upper and middle-class alike— was lured by the promise of adventure and
unencumbered by the routes and schedules of the railroad.
Beginning in the 1930s, a stretch of present-day Union Avenue between Ming and California
avenues began developing as an entertainment and tourist corridor. At the time, Highway 99,
the chief inland route between Northern and Southern California, ran along Union Avenue in
Bakersfield, bringing a steady stream of tourists to the city."' In 1930, Oscar and C.L. Tomerlin
built the Bakersfield Inn (1101 Union Avenue), a lavish hotel in the style of a Spanish Villa. Over
time, the Inn grew from 26 rooms to approximately 325 rooms —spanning both sides of Union
Avenue and connected by the pedestrian bridge that was the first "Bakersfield" sign. The
original sign was 130 feet long and weighed 30 tons."'
Other motels along Union Avenue included the mid-1950s El Adobe Motel at 251 S. Union
Avenue, which later became the Hacienda Motel, a sister operation to the Hacienda Hotel in
Las Vegas and Hacienda Motels in Fresno and Indio. By 1968, the Hacienda was joined by the
Desert Star Motel (516 S. Union Avenue); the El Don Motel (800 S. Union Avenue); the Star -
Liter Motel (900 S. Union Avenue); the Sunland Motel (1000 S. Union Avenue); the Eden Roc
Inn Motel and Coffee Shop (1010 S. Union Avenue); the Fairgrounds Motel (1102 S. Union
Avenue); the Sunset Motel (1108 S. Union Avenue); Motelodge (1219 S. Union Avenue); the
Palms Motel & Cocktail Lounge (1338 S. Union Avenue); the Ritz -El Motel, Coffee Shop and
Service Station (1501 S. Union Avenue); Hi -Way Motel (1635 S. Union Avenue); the Fryer's
Motel (110 Truxtun Avenue); and the Globe Motel (1701 S. Union Avenue).
Bakersfield Inn postcard, circa 1952. (Online Archive of California)
'0 In 1963, Highway 99 was officially rerouted two miles west of Union Avenue as a freeway, bypassing the corridor.
Robert E. Price, The Bake,,t Soond,(Berkeley, CA: Heyday), 2018, 55-56.
75
Fryer's Motel postcard, no date. (Card Cow)
Among the Union Avenue nightclubs was the Rainbow Gardens (mentioned above). Many of
these clubs attracted entertainers and acts from Los Angeles or Las Vegas, and Bakersfield
developed a reputation as a good place to try out new material or polish a set before going out
on the road. Union Avenue was also home to the finest restaurant in the city: Maison Jaussaud
French Restaurant and Nite Club (1001 S. Union Avenue). It was built in 1949 by Dermide
Jussaud and was in continuous operation until it was sold in the mid-1980s. The restaurant was
also famous for having hosted the Shah of Iran for lunch during the mid-1970s.232
Other hot spots along Union Avenue included the Saddle and Sirloin (101 S. Union Avenue),
and the Crystal Inn near S. Union and Planz Road. These classic fine -dining restaurants served
traditional American food and entertainment by a piano player or small combo. Union Avenue's
association with vacationers travel by automobile also meant that it was a popular area for
drive-in restaurants.
East Bakersfield
The Basque community benefited from postwar prosperity as well. Leo Narducci and Lino
Tessandori built a market (1322 Kentucky Street) in 1948. In 1950, they sold it to Gino and
Tony Ceccarelli and it became known as Gino and Tony's. By now, all of Robinson Street was
filled with Italian families with homes that had large gardens and numerous animals. New social
organizations were formed in Bakersfield's Latino community, including Acci6n Cat6lica
Mexican, a young men's group, and the Juventud Cat6lica Feminina Mexican (JCFM), for
young women 211 The Our Lady of Guadalupe parish was also quite active in the community in
organizing social and sporting activities. As was the case in many California communities,
321 Bakersfield Observed, http://www.bak,rsfieldobserved com/2017/04/wednesday-bako-bits-trip-down-memory.html (accessed
June 5, 2022),
2u The Bakersfield Californian documents the'9uventud Catblica Feminina Mezicana" in its pages, however, no confirmation of
this spelling could be found. The organization was often referred to as'1GF.W
I ,. , '.V+,,.
76
Bakersfield's Japanese community dispersed after their incarceration. By the 1960 Census, just
144 Japanese lived in Bakersfield.
Like so many Southern (and Central) California cities, Bakersfield was poised to propel itself
into a period of postwar growth. Still fueled by the dual industries of oil and agriculture, and
now poised to annex in new tracts of land on its periphery, Bakersfield was poised to advance
its status as the "Queen of the San Joaquin" at mid-century. Mother nature, however, had
other things in mind,
THEMES
THEME. Postwar Civic and Institutional Development
Bakersfield's postwar population growth and expansion were bound to lead to the need for new
civic and institutional buildings. During these early postwar years, however, the city continued
to be served by the buildings that had served the community for decades. While plans for
expansion of existing structures and new ones to serve the rapidly growing eastern end of the
city were likely on the boards, it took the earthquake of 1952 for City and County fathers to re -
envision what the civic center of downtown required. In the meantime, small projects
proceeded as restrictions on building materials eased.
Around 1951, two of Bakersfield's Black physicians built a medical clinic (234 Baker Street). Dr.
Ernest W. Williams, Jr., M.D. had been a front line surgeon during World War II. In 1947, he
came to Bakersfield to build a practice. In 1949, he advertised in a Bay Area professional journal
for a partner in medicine. Dr. Homer Myles answered the call, and for many years was the only
African American dentist between Los Angeles and San Francisco.2'4
THEME: Postwar Commercial Development
The modernization of storefronts and facades in downtown continued during the early
postwar period. One new addition to downtown during this period was the F.W. Woolworth
department store (140019th Street) in 1949.$J5 In East Bakersfield, the Tejon Theater (1200
Baker Street) opened on June 17, 1947. In addition to the movie theater, there were four
attached storefronts designed by Charles H. Biggar, C. B. Alford, and William J. Thomas two
years prioi.236
The large new postwar residential subdivisions required supportive commercial development
that typically took the form of suburban shopping centers. A prime example of this was the
Westchester Village Shopping Center (F Street between 30th Street and Golden State
Frontage Avenue). Houchin Development Company developed the large shopping center with a
department store, drugstore, furniture stores, ladies apparel, men and boys stores, restaurants,
a service station, and other suburban shops.
"' Gilbert Peter Gia, Race, Sports and Black Unity,1875-1988,197.
" Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (no date).
a' 'Opening Tuesday for Tejon Theater; BakersiSeld Californian, June 16, 1947, 12.
I
77
THEME: Postwar Industrial Development
During the period after World War II, Kern County leaders and members of the Bakersfield
Chamber of Commerce developed a campaign to lure more industrial development to
Bakersfield. California's growing population suggested that demand for industrially -produced
products would increase. Companies were beginning to recognize that the west would be an
important new market in the late 20th century.
Despite Bakersfield's proximity to the railroad, city fathers quickly identified that it would be
difficult to find industrial development sites in the city with all of the modern facilities that
businesses would require. One area that was identified for new industrial development was the
Mt. Vernon area, just east of the California Cotton -Cooperative plant. Over time, the district
has grown to be bounded by Virginia Avenue to the north, just south of Highway 58 to the
south, Oswell Street to the east, and present-day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the
west.
Among the industrial facilities located in this general area, the Kurth Battery Company was an
example of the approximately 100 Kern County industries that employed 20 persons or less.E37
Until the Chamber of Commerce developed a coordinated and cohesive campaign to attract
industrial development, the manufacturing facilities in the city were mostly small and light
industrial. The real estate pages of the Bakersfield Californian also offered suggestions for
locations for industrial facilities including along the Fruitvale and Rosedale Highways.
THEME: Postwar Residential Development
To address the housing shortage in the Bakersfield area, developers turned to the agricultural
land outside the city center, and even beyond city limits. This pattern in turn led to a series of
annexation movements. In addition to the lack of space within the city limits, building outside
the city also allowed developers to avoid compliance with city ordinances regulating new
construction. According to Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Area,1945-
1973, "the development pattern of postwar subdivisions in the greater Bakersfield area shows
concentric rings around the pre-war Bakersfield city limits for each decade of the postwar
period."�38
Among the many young couples that came to Bakersfield during the postwar period were
George and Barbara Bush. In 1949, George Bush was employed as an oilfield salesman by
Dresser Industries. He and Barbara rented a house at 2101 Monterey Street; they stayed just
three months. While the Bush's residency in Bakersfield was short-lived, many others were
coming to stay, work, and raise families. Thus was the intense need for houses that were quick
to build and affordable to the average working American. By the mid-1950s, new residential
development in the greater Bakersfield area was concentrated northeast and southeast of the
city center.
"''Kern Produces More Than Spuds, Battery Firm Says," Bakersfield Californian, May 11, 1950, 22.
1°JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Area, 17.
-.I. ..d I �. r I.i PA[
Gannon Gardens
No.1 and No.2
Hillcrest
Washington Park
Rancho Vista
Plant Park
Kavalier Court
Homes
Crestline Homes
Source: TO BE ADDED
Elmer Houchin and George Call; worked
L Bradford)
with Gannon
Construction Col.
Ralph Smith Company
Attributed. to
(Ralph L. Smith)
Wilson Call
Howard Nichols
James Leslie Dandy
Roland Curran and Hugh
Curran
Rez Whittemore
Kavalier Development
Corporation
MVM Construction (Floyd
Ming)
78
1949-1950 1950
1948-1958 1948-c. 1955
Possibly Wilson 1949 1950-c. 1951
Call
Hugh Currant
Mobilhome
Harold J.
Sinner, AIA;:E.
R. Kufus.
Robert Eddy
Cliff May/Chris
Choate'
1950 1950-c. 1956
1950-1953 1953- 1959
c. 1952 c. 1952
1952 c. 1953
One of the earliest suburban residential tracts developed in Bakersfield was Westchester,
bordered by the Southern Pacific Railroad to the north, 24th and H streets to the south and
east, and the Stine Canal to the west. Developed by Houchin & Bradford (a partnership
between C. Elmer Houchin and George L. Bradford), the plans included 750 houses and an
adjacent retail/commercial center. The developers' plans were subject to serious delays due to
shortages of building materials in the postwar period. During the delay, the two partners
dissolved their initial partnership and formed the Westchester Development Corporation,
which was the subdivider of record. Comprised of irregularly -shaped tracts with curvilinear
street patterns, Westchester became developed with two- and three -bedroom Ranch -style
homes that met the FHA and VA loan requirements. Gannon Construction Company were the
builders."" Westchester had restrictive covenants, and as a result became one of the more
desirable postwar tracts. In 1949, the Houchin Development Corporation was formed for 60
additional acres that would become the commercial center."*
Westchester also offered options for more customized homes. Houchin recruited high -end Los
Angeles -based builder Lewis Stoner to construct 24 such houses that could compete in quality
with nearby custom homes.341 Another builder, Ken Mynatt, offered "custom" homes in
Westchester, marketed as "Farmaire" homes, which were scattered around the development.
j' It is unclear if Wilson Call's designs for the Gannon Construction Company were used here.
... JRP Historical Consultin& Key Postwar Homing Tracts Within the Greater BakersfeldArea, 40.
3° JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Hausing Tracts Within the Greater BakersfeldA ren, 42,
79
There were also several of the "rustic farm -type homes" erected, including at 2529 Alder Street
and 2480 Beech Street 242 Mynatt also built Farmaire homes in other tracts. By 1950, more than
500 homes had been constructed.
Additional early residential tracts were Gannon Gardens No.1 and Gannon Gardens No. 2.
Ralph L. Smith, Jr. subdivided the land and partnered with local contractors Joseph and William
Gannon, of Gannon Construction Co., to build the homes. Gannon Gardens No. 1 was a 20-acre,
83-lot tract fronted on Brundage Lane just east of Oak Street, and bounded to the north by
Bank Street. Gannon Gardens No. 2. consisted of 189 lots on Oak Lane bordered by Palm Street
to the north, Real Road to the west, and included several lots south of Bank Street along
Western Wetherley and Oakdale Drives. Both Gannon Gardens tracts were designed with
alleys and vehicular access at the rear of the lots. The houses themselves, attributed to
architect Wilson Call, were designed in the Minimal Traditional style, with simple rectangular
footprints and pitched side -gabled roofs.$43
The Hillcrest development was subdivided at the end of the 1940s included 530 residential lots.
The area was developed by Harold Nichols, who appears to have applied a different approach
from most tract developers during the period. Rather than building a series of replicated
designs, Nichols built a series of individual showcase homes, to bring the public to the
neighborhood and inspire the desire for the newest in home design. In Fall of 1948, Nichols
built a model home (1728 Locust Ravine). The following year, Nichols held a contest between
three model homes built by local contractors: the "Hillburn" (by Johnson & Johnson, 2708
Hilburn Road), the "Windsor" (1601 Crestmont Drive), and the Ranch -style "Crestview" (by
Willard K. Michael, 1628 Country Club Drive). In 1949, Nichols constructed his own home in
Hillcrest (1737 Crestmont Drive), designed by his nephew, architect Edwin Shomate.
In 1950, Nichols built a Modern -style home (3205 Monterey Street) for U.S. Marine Sergeant
Edward Szmurlo, which he promoted heavily as part of his sales strategy for Hillcrest. This was
likely one of his "ModernArt" homes, which were available with a 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom
plan. Two other models along Monterey Street survive today, at 3233 Monterey Street and
3213 Monterey Street, although both have been altered.
The Washington Park tract was a development by the longtime Bakersfield developer and
realtor J.L. Dandy. Prior to World War II, Dandy constructed hundreds of custom and tract
"Dandy Homes" in Los Angeles, Fresno, Redlands, and Bakersfield. The Washington Park
development (Tract 1492) was unique in Bakersfield because Dandy purchased the land from
the original owners/sub-dividers in 1949 and removed the restrictive covenants such that
Blacks and Latinos could purchase homes there$40 Washington Park is believed to be one of the
first postwar housing subdivisions in the metropolitan area where buyers of color were
welcomed.
— NEED CITATION.
243 The Wilson Call collection housed at CSUB has not been catalogued. However, access to a Wilson Call proie¢ list indicates that
Call 'designed 1,400 houses for Gannon Construction between 1949 and 195 V This suggests that Gannon Gardens may have
been amongst them.
JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Area, 29.
i .. _ , Fn.1F"
80
Rancho Vista is also unique among Bakersfield tract home developments. It was developed by
Roland Curran, and was composed primarily of prefabricated house built by his brother Hugh
Curran's Mobilhome Corporation. Hugh's military background in prefabricated buildings
inspired the idea of building a complete house in a factory setting and then trucked to the lot.'"a
Houses could be completed in 10-12 days. Roland, responsible for the marketing of the
subdivision, also offered lots for sale to those who wanted to build their own. The Mobilhome
houses could be financed through the G.I. Bill, and as a result, in 1949 veterans could purchase a
three -bedroom home for as little as $43 per month 246 Rancho Vista consisted of 148 lots
fronting on the south side of Stockdale Highway (just east of Stine Canal), bounded by Stine
Road, Quarter Avenue, and McDonald Way, and including portions of Curran, Griffiths, Jones,
and Marsha Streets, and Peckham Avenue.
One of the larger residential developments from this period was Planz Ranch. Developed by
Rex Whittemore in 1950 on the former Planz Ranch property, this subdivision anticipated some
680 homes, with sixteen lots fronting on S. Chester Avenue reserved for commercial
development. As president of the Fremont Development Corporation, Whittemore offered
Ranch -style homes in 34 different designs. Most of these homes were designed by Pasadena -
based architect Harold J. Bissner, AIA. They included two -and three -bedroom options in a
variety of square footages and plans. In March of 1954, however, the subdivision's final phase of
300 houses were under construction at the southeast and northeast corners of Planz Park. This
phase of development had eight housing types, with designs by E.R. Kufus of Hawthorne,
California.
Kavalier Court was a small development of 22 luxury homes designed by Robert Eddy, AIA in
the Modern Ranch style. The development was unusual for its exceptionally broad lots,
measuring between 60 and 90 feet wide, and for the fact that no two home designs were
exactly the same. Crestline Homes was a series of two- and three -bedroom homes developed
and built by Lloyd Ming's company, MVM Construction. Located at the northwest intersection
of Mount Vernon Avenue and Bernard Street, the homes were designed by architects Cliff May
and Chris Choate as part of their postwar tract home business. At least three different models
were available.'°' The Modern Ranch -style homes featured board -and -batten siding and floor -
to -ceiling windows.'"
Tract homes were not the only type of single-family homes constructed in Bakersfield after the
war. Many custom homes were designed by local and out-of-town architects alike. Robert Eddy
developed quite a portfolio of Mid -Century Modern and Modern Ranch -style residential
projects during the early 1950s. They included the 1950 J.H. Mauer Residence (2308 Pine
Street), the 1950 John Brock Residence (2219 Pine Street), and the 1952 John A. Bidart
Residence (137 Panorama Drive). All of these designs reflected Eddy's post -and -beam
educational training. Former Cullimore student Eugene Kinn Choy also designed several
residential projects through his Bakersfield connections, including the Ralph Smith Residence
(275 Panorama Avenue). Among the out-of-town architects working on residences in the city
°5 'Assembly -Line Houses Hit the Road, Popular Science, June 1949, 113-118.
°°h JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Are., 52.
}01 Additional information and photos pending a visit to the UCSB archive, Santa Barbara where the Cliff May archive is housed.
zee Crestline Homes Offer Buys in 3 Price Ranges, Bakersfield Californian, July 4, 1953, 9.
,..1 1 1 11_.. 1 1. [11 .
81
was Raphael A. Nicolias of Beverly Hills. Nicolias designed the Ralph Bohne Residence (910
Park Drive/now 920 Park Drive) in 1950, which was unusual for its brick construction.
After the war, many builders created showcase homes to show the public the benefits of new
technologies, new materials, or new ideas in design. In the late 1940s, Roy H. Anderson began
experimenting with poured pumice and steel. He completed his first experimental house in
1949 (127 Spruce Street) and a second one in 1950 (206 Spruce Street). The houses were
marketed as inexpensive to construct, providing good insulation and acoustics, and fireproof.
They were known as `Anderson Monolithic Structures."341
,r"Inventor Anderson Pours House of Pumice, Concrete and steel, Hakersfeld Californian, March 19, 1949, 9.
I r r. I PI Ii'. I I IJ.'.t. 1 ,IArr
82
CONTEXT: Disaster, Rebuilding, and Expansion,1953-1975
A modern city requires a modern government -the community enjoys low
insurance rates as a result of the outstanding police and fire protection provided
and sanitation, sewage, public works parks recreation and hundreds of services
rendered by the city for the benefit of its citizens are likewise of the high caliber
required to earn the distinction of "The Newest City in America.'so
Bakersfield Greater Chamber of
Commerce, 1956
/ can think of no other city the size of Bakersfield in the United States that has as
many fine examples of contemporary, well -planned architecture."'
William G. Belch President, AIA,
Southern California
On July 21, 1952 at 4:52 a.m., a magnitude 7.3 earthquake shook Bakersfield. Twelve people
were killed and hundreds injured. Over the next month, powerful aftershocks measuring 5.0 or
greater followed. Buildings that survived the initial quake fell prey to the subsequent temblors.
Earthquake damage at 19th Street and Chester Avenue, 1952. (Kern
County Museum)
zso "Bakersfield, the Newest City in America," Bakersfield Greater Chamber of Commerce, 1956, Earthquake Vertical File, Jack Maguire
Local History Room, Beale Memorial Library.
"Bakersfield Architects Win Praise; Bakersfield Californian, July 21, 1955, 22.
83
The earthquake resulted in $8,650,000 in damage."' Some 400 commercial and institutional
buildings were damaged, with 90 immediately reduced to rubble. The city's schools were hit
particularly hard as 193 classrooms were deemed no longer safe.253 No estimate was ever made
of the damage to residences and apartment buildings, but it was extensive. Homes not bolted
to their foundations were particularly vulnerable. The unsupported masonry crowns along the
tops of office buildings crashed to the ground. According to Bakersfield historian John Arthur
Maynard, "...the earth released the equivalent of two thousand atomic bombs: "54 All four faces
of the Beale clock tower fell to the ground.
City fathers used the disaster as a catalyst for removing "eyesore" buildings and making over
the tenderloin district�55 New public buildings were funded through local property taxes and a
series of bond measures. Investment in the city reportedly topped $64,000,000.116 The sheer
amount of destruction from the Bakersfield earthquake offered an opportunity to think about a
uniform architectural style for the city. In September of 1952, a group of Los Angeles architects
visited the city and raised the question. City Manager C. Leland Gunn met the comparison with
Santa Barbara, which had imposed a Spanish Colonial Revival -style mandate after the
earthquake there in 1925, by advocating for "good contemporary modern architecture.""' Gunn
argued for modern architecture on the basis that it provided good return on investment, that
Bakersfield was a city of the present and future not of the past, and that modern architecture
had been used in Bakersfield to wide acclaim.
By this time, a cadre of architecture students trained by Clarence Cullimore Sr. had completed
their college educations and returned to Bakersfield. After working in established local firms,
the earthquake presented opportunity to establish their own practices. Among them were
Wright Metcalf & Parsons, Alford & Thomas, and Eddy & Paynter.
Additionally, the population of Bakersfield increased substantially in during the 1950s. The
Bakersfield Californian estimated that the population increased by 15,000 in the Bakersfield
metropolitan area between 1952 and 1954.258 A quick look at population growth helps explain
the ensuing changes in the built environment in the city:
Figure 4. Bakersfield Population Growth 1950-1970
1950 34,784 N/A
1960 56,848 63.4%
1970 69,515 223%
Source: U.S. Census
' 'Second Quake Anniversary Recalls Day of Death, Rebuilding Program,° Bakersfield Californian, August 23, 1954, 26.
esn 'How Bakersfield is Handling Its Triple -Earthquake Crisis; American City, October 1952, 123, Earthquake Vertical File, Jack
Maguire Local History Room, Beale Memorial Library.
cs' John Arthur Maynard, Bakersfield. ACentennial Bortmit, 79.
se Second quake Anniversary Recalls Day of Death, Rebuilding Program,' Bakersfield Californian, August 23, 1954, 26.
i6 Donato Cruz,'America's Newest City: 1950, Bakersfield and the Making of a Modern Suburban Segregated Landscape,' Master of
Arts in History, California State University, Bakersfield, 2020, 145.
251'13 Architects Call for Stricter City Building Code Rulings, New Fees,° Bakersfield Californian, September 9, 195Z 19.
216..Second Quake Anniversary Recalls Day of Death, Rebuilding Program," Bakersfield California, August 23, 1954, 26.
84
Moreover, Bakersfield during this period was a young city. By the 1960s, the median age of
Bakersfield residents was 27, versus 32.1 for the state as a whole.25'
In 1954, oil and agriculture were still alive and well in Kern County. There were 295 cotton
farms which were producing a reported 390,000 bales of cotton annually.260 That same year, the
local oil industry produced 94 million barrels of crude —one third of California's total
production 2fi1
The Earthquake and the Diaspora of the Chinese Community
The population of Bakersfield's two Chinatowns had been dwindling since the 1920s. However,
the earthquake was the final blow to these districts, as nearly all of the buildings were damaged
or destroyed. Only the Ying On Association, Bin Kong Tong, and Let Sing Gong Temple were
rebuilt (18th and R streets).�12 The wreckage of the two Chinatowns, combined with greater
levels of Americanization and English language fluency among its residents, resulted in the
geographic dispersal of the local Chinese community throughout Bakersfield. Furthermore,
there was no money within the community to rebuild.E63 By the 1960 Census, there were only
455 Chinese living in Bakersfield.
It was also during this period that the community saw many new professionals among its ranks,
including the city's first Chinese American dentist, Leland Chow, who moved to Bakersfield in
1953; and the first Chinese American police officer, Galen Chow. Loraine Lee Choy and Laura
Lee Leong were the first Asian American school teachers in Kern County, despite the longtime
presence of a Chinese Students Club at Bakersfield High School.
Bakersfield College
After World War II, enrollment at Bakersfield College sky -rocketed, due in large part to the G.I.
Bill. In 1953, Alford & Thomas remodeled its building at California Avenue and F Street;
however, it was soon recognized that the institution needed a campus of its own. By 1956, day
enrollment was about 2,000 students, with an additional 2,100 in evening classes.E64 Plans for
moving Bakersfield College from the Kern County High School campus to its own site on the
Panorama bluffs were accelerated by the earthquake. Planning and design of the new campus
began in early 1952 by Wright Metcalf & Parsons. By 1954, most of the buildings were approved
for construction. Classes were first held on the new Panorama campus in 1956.
Wright Metcalf & Parsons' design for the campus was a grid of campus buildings flanked by
athletic facilities to the southeast. Mid -Century Modern in style, the buildings included the
Administration Building, Science and Engineering Building, Science Building, Homemaking
Building, Amphitheater, Trades and Industry Building, and Campus Center. Campus buildings
extensively used architectural concrete as a cost effective material, with each building having
"' John Arthur MaynaN, Bokers(eld. ACentenniol Portrait, 83,
'"Bakersfield Part II, The Beacon, 1952, 22. Earthquake Vertical File, Jack Maguire Local History Room, Beale Memorial Library.
S6' Bakersfield Part II, The Beacon, 1957, 22. Earthquake Vertical File, Jack Maguire Local History Room, Beale Memorial Library.
262 William Harland Boyd, TheChinese of Kern County,189-1960, 211.
S61 William Harland Boyd, The Chinese o/Kern Coonry, 1857-1960, 218
36' NEED CITATION
65
low, horizontal profile. In 1974, J. Warren Wright of Wright Metcalf & Parsons, designed an
addition to the Bakersfield College Physical Education Building and Humanities Building.
California State University, Bakersfield
Back in 1959, the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce commissioned a study to advise
on the need for an institution of higher learning beyond Bakersfield College. Yes, it wasn't until
1965 that a California State Senate bill established California State University, Bakersfield
(9001 Stockdale Highway). In August of 1965, Gruen Associates were chosen as architects for
the campus.265 In the master -planning phase, Gruen narrowed down the potential sites to three
locations. Ultimately Stockdale was selected. Located on the west side of the city, land for the
campus was donated by Tenneco. Campus construction began in 1969. California State College,
Bakersfield opened in the fall of 1970 with 900 students and 70 faculty members.3 a There were
five major schools of study: business and public administration, behavioral sciences, education,
humanities, and natural science and mathematics.
Gruen Associates designed the campus to have two unique features: the Academic Village and
a "mall -type" development. The Academic Village was composed of sixteen three-story
residential buildings with 45 students per building —with an emphasis on integrating studies
and university life. The reference to "mall type" development for the academic facilities refers
to Gruen Associates' deep roots in shopping mall planning. Victor Gruen himself had been a
pioneer in shopping mall design in the mid-1950s and was responsible for the design of the first
indoor, air-conditioned, shopping mall in America. His "mall -like" design for the college campus
focused on attaching the initial buildings in a T-shaped configuration, rather than dispersing
them as free-standing buildings across the land. The buildings were Late Modern in their
design.
California State University, Bakersfield, c. 1970. (CSUB)
'°' History of California State University, Bakersfield, https://csub.libguides com/c.php?g=1052694&p=7643902 (accessed October 3,
2022),
E66 Continued Success as Cal State Forecast" aakersFeld Californian, January 21, 1975, 32.
86
By 1974, CSUB was one of the fastest -growing campuses in the state college system, with
more than $10 million worth of projects under construction or on the drawing board''' Included
in the project list were a Student Health Center and $1.5 million addition to the library, both
designed by the Bakersfield firm of Biggar, Frapwell, Ghezzi & Cartnal; a physical education
building by Black & O'Dowd; Science Building II by Pakin Architects; a Cafeteria by Cody,
Sheedy, Cody of Palm Springs; and a Fine Arts Building by Arendt, Moser & Grant.
The Cold War
The 1950s and early 1960s were a period of "Cold War" between the United States and the
Soviet Union. The nuclear arms race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. motivated some to build
bomb shelters for their protection. Bakersfield appears to have had an above -average number
of home bomb shelters, possibly inspired by the Kern County's Civil Defense Office, which
began distributing literature and construction plans in 1960. The office even constructed a
sample "Family Fallout Shelter" on the grounds of the Kern County Museum in June of 1960.
The construction of shelters —both above -ground and subterranean —appears to have been the
highest in 1961, although the exact number built is unknown"'
Civil Rights: In the Fields and Beyond
After the annexation of the Sunset/Mayflower area in 1953, Louisiana -born Henry H. Collins
(1906-1972) became the first African American elected to the Bakersfield City Council,
representing Ward 1. Collins appears to have come to Kern County after World War II. He was
pastor at St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Mission (1092 Ralston Street, now 1216 Ralston
Street). While a member of City Council, Collins and his wife also lived on the church property
in the Sunset/Mayflower neighborhood. In 1953, Collins was also president of the local chapter
of the NAACP and was elected as a delegate to the statewide rally in 1955. He was re-elected
to the City Council in 1957.
Historian Oliver A. Rosales describes that "while African American and Mexican American
coalitions had begun around farmworkers' rights and housing, the municipal anti -discrimination
and fair employment movement in Bakersfield aroused the most important cross -ethnic
activism of the period..""9 The NAACP and the Community Service Organization continued to
advocate for civil rights issues after the earthquake. Although these organizations did not have
purpose-built meeting spaces, both organizations frequently used the Veterans Hall (999 E.
California Avenue).
In 1957, Bakersfield attempted to model its FEPC ordinance on what other cities were doing.
Mayor Frank Sullivan and City Councilman Henry Collins visited Oakland. After much heated
discussion, a fair employment ordinance was enacted in Bakersfield in September of 1957.
Housing discrimination and segregation continued to be problems into the 1960s. On August 9,
i6 -CSB Building, Plans Involve Eight Projects Worth $10 Million,' Bakersfield Californian, December 24, 1974, 11-12.
16° 1RP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Area, 1945-1973, 36
au Oliver A. Rosales, 'Civil Rights 'beyond the Fields,"' in Civil Rights and Beyond, ed. Brian D. Behoken, (Athens, GA: University of
Georgia Press, 2016). 41s
87
1960, an African American family moved into the Hillcrest area of northeastern Bakersfield and
was harassed by phone."'
The struggle over fair housing reengaged the civic unity movement in the early 1960s, once
again led by Bakersfield's progressive religious community. Like many cities, Bakersfield
established an Intergroup Relations Board (IRB) in July of 1963 to advise the City Council and
all matters promoting harmonious racial relations within the city limits. Reverend Julius Brooks,
pastor of the Cain AME Church in East Bakersfield, was appointed chairman of the IRB.
In 1963, the Rumford Fair Housing Act was passed in California, mandating fair housing and the
elimination of racial covenants and deed restrictions. One year later, Proposition 14 passed,
overturning the Rumford Act. As in many other municipalities, civil rights and fair housing
activists banded together to fight Proposition 14. When they lost the election, those activists
remobilized in other groups. In this case, it was the Kern Council for Civic Unity (KCCU).
Founding KCCU members included Duane Belcher, a Bakersfield College faculty member; Art
Shaw, the local NAACP chair; and Mel Brow, a War on Poverty activist and teacher. The
organization's concerns extended beyond fair housing to include education, employment, and
fostering cross -race communications. In March 1965, the KCCU organized a protest in which
nearly 3,000 people marched from the Cain AME Church to the Kern Civic Center in downtown
Bakersfield. In 1966, the White Citizens Council was established in opposition. On January 18,
1966, they held a meeting in downtown Bakersfield at the El Tejon Hotel to publicize the
group's activities and distribute racist tracts. The White Citizens Council and the IRB and
KCCU continued to butt heads throughout the mid-1960s.
On September 8, 1965, the Delano Grape Strike began when members of the Agricultural
Workers Organizing Committee demanded wages equal to the federal minimum wage. The
following week, the National Farmworkers Association joined the strike, led by labor activists
Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), Dolores Huerta (1930-present), and Richard Chavez. The two
groups would eventually merge, forming the United Farm Workers of America. The strike and
boycott lasted five years.
The large Mexican American population in Bakersfield and Kern County resulted in a strong
foothold for the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. Unlike previous, multi -racial coalitions, the
Chicano Civil Rights movement encouraged Mexican Americans to embrace ethnic separatism
and be proud of their Chicano heritage. The "Godfather of the Bakersfield Chicano Movement"
was Raymond Gonzales (c. 1938-2018).M Gonzales advocated for the Movement and was one
of the first Chicano professors at Bakersfield College. He was an education advisor to Gov.
Jerry Brown. In 1972, he campaigned successfully to become Kern County's first Latino
Assemblyman. The movement was inspired in some ways by the Black Panthers movement
among African Americans.
10 Additional archival research on this topic at California State University, Bakersfield is anticipated.
' `Raymond Gonzales -South Kern Sol, October 6, 2018, httpsl/southkernsol.org/2018/10/06/raymond-gonzales-the-godfather-af-
bekersfield-chicano-movement-remembered-as-a-commu nity-hero/ (accessed November 1, 2022).
88
Kern City: California's First Retirement Community
Arizona building contractor Del E. Webb, of Del Webb Corporation, was a pioneer developer of
senior "retirement communities." His first venture, Sun City, opened in January 1961 just
outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Shortly after Sun City opened, Webb turned to Bakersfield, where
he developed a partnership with KCL (later subsumed by Tenneco Incorporated) to design and
develop a nearly identical community in the Central Valley, making it the first retirement
community in California2J2 The community was called "Kern City" (not to be confused with the
term for East Bakersfield at the turn of the 20th century). Kern City was described as a "total
planning" concept, a self-contained city for "active adults" of pre -retirement age with shared
interests. At 600 acres, Kern City offered affordable home ownership with county club
amenities and the conveniences of city living.'';
On October 7th and 8th, 1961, Kern City opened to a throng of interest, with 55,000 people
touring the community.174 The initial phase of development included 750 homes and
apartments (primarily single-family residences). Sales were restricted to singles or couples over
50 years of age. Phase I also included an independent sewer system; a nine -hole golf course;
town hall with 700-person auditorium, kitchen facilities and club rooms; arts and craft center;
pool and bath house; and shuffleboard, lawn bowling, and croquet areas.
The master plan for the community was drawn by Los Angeles -based Quinton Engineering and
the local firm of Rickett, Reaves & Ward. The main entrance to Kern City was via Sundial
Avenue, and the main communal buildings were located off this road. Single-family residences
were located throughout the development with apartments situated along Sundial Avenue.
The residences were designed by local architects Eddy & Paynter, AIA."' In 1963, the nine -hole
golf course, designed by renowned golf course architect Arthur Jack Snyder, was enlarged to
eighteen holes.
Kern City was an instant success. Stockdale Development Corporation reported $1.2 million in
salesjust weeks after opening. A nationwide advertising campaign was launched in Life
magazine and Reader's Digest"b Sales brochures featured eighteen different "minimum care"
Ranch -style models with subtypes such as Rustic and Storybook. Premiums were charged for
garages and carports (one- or two -car), air conditioning, and fairway adjacent lots.17 By 1964,
448 homes had been built.
In mid-1967, Kern City announced a change to its program: it would now allow custom homes
to be built. By 1973, Kern City had 875 homes and approximately 1,200 residents. However, the
community never reached the projections of 4,000 residents. Undeveloped portions of Kern
City were ultimately sold off or developed as traditional residential tracts were not part of the
retirement community."a
0111RP Historical Consulting. Key PdrtWa/Housing Tracts Within the Greaterlhadii feltl Area, 66.
61'Huge City to Rise in South For Retiradi Los Angeles Times, December 17, 1961, 11.
° "Huge City to Rise in South For Retirant;" Los Angeles Times, December 17,1961, 11.
" Eddy & Paynter also designed the commercial shopping center covered on page X.
1° JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakers Feld Area, 69.
a" JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater SakershelJArea, 71.
"a JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater BakersidelC A red, 74.
89
Freeway Construction
Although State Road (SR)178 was created a result of a bond measure dating to 1919, the route
would not be constructed to freeway standards until 1968, extending from downtown
Bakersfield, through East Bakersfield to Haley Street. Over the years, various proposals to
extend the freeway westward, including one through the Westchester neighborhood in 1973;
however, these efforts were ultimately quashed by the community. The construction of the 178
freeway fueled development in East Bakersfield during the late 1960S and early 1970s as
suburban development in these areas could efficiently be linked to the downtown area. South
of Brundage Lane, State Road 58—also known as the Mojave Freeway —has evolved into a
freeway just within the last several decades.
One of the most important freeway construction efforts was the completion of Interstate 5,
the state of California's main north/south route. Paving of the Grapevine as a freeway was
completed in 1970. As Interstate 5 connected to US 99 just north of the Grapevine, the
completion of this freeway further eroded Bakersfield's relative isolation and contributed to its
continued population growth in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Downtown Redevelopment and Urban Renewal
By the 1970s, the suburbanization of the City of Bakersfield had left its downtown
economically depressed and thus a target for redevelopment. For example, with the move of
Sears Roebuck to the Valley Plaza, the department store abandoned their downtown building.
While most urban renewal programs involved federal funding, it appears that Bakersfield's
business model brokered agreements directly with developers. Many municipalities followed
city planning emerging trends in urban renewal that called for a remaking of downtowns.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Bakersfield Redevelopment Agency was formed and
initially defined a redevelopment area bounded by E, M, 16th and 18th streets.EJ9
One of the largest and most important projects of the Bakersfield Redevelopment Agency was
the Bank of America block (1440 Truxtun Avenue), completed in 1974. The ten -story Brutalist-
style office tower by San Francisco -based Architects Associated remains one of the tallest
buildings in downtown. The Agency was also involved in the development agreement with
Arcon, Inc. for the parking structure next door. A new Imperial Savings and Loan building (1400
Truxtun Avenue) by Jack Anderson of Associated Architects opened just down the block that
same year.
Another project within the redevelopment area was consolidation of the Bakersfield -based
American National Bank into the former Sears Building (19th and K Streets). The project was
designed by Eddy, Paynter, Renfro & Associates. American National Bank was the former
Bakersfield National Bank, established in 1964. By 1974, the renamed bank employed more
than 400 people and had 20 branches."'
—'Action Delayed When Downtown Plan Questioned," Bakersfield Californian, November 11, 1974, 9.
uo'ANB to Move Its Offices to Old Sears Building," Bakersfield Californian, October 22, 1974, 9.
90
Redevelopment continued with the conversion of the old Fedway building into a downtown
campus for Bakersfield College. Known as the Bakersfield College Downtown Center (2106
Chester Avenue), the architect David Cartnal designed the $2 million remodel and re-
landscaping. The Late Modern -style facility offered training in journalism, business, home
economics, and independent study courses.
It was at this same time that the City of Bakersfield commissioned local architect Robert Stuhr
to design a new police station (1601 Trurton Avenue). Plans for the police station began in
1969, but negotiations with some private individuals who owned a portion of the land delayed
the project. Late Modern in style, the project was delayed again by cost overruns and a decision
by the City midway through the design process to move the entrance from Eye Street to
Truxtun Avenue. The Redevelopment Agency also planned a covered regional shopping center
in the downtown area bordered by Chester Avenue, 22nd, N and 17th streets. That project
never came to fruition.
The earthquake proved a transformational event in the built environment of Bakersfield. As a
result, much of the city got a Mid -Century Modern makeover, primarily at the hands of a cadre
of home-grown and locally -trained architects who built thriving practices as they rebuilt the
city. However, the earthquake was also a factor in creating the large inventory of unimproved
parcels that continue to dot the city today. As the city grew outward in all directions, Col.
Baker's 18th-century western town was effectively transformed into a sprawling postwar
suburban city, but with one of the great concentrations of Mid -Century Modern architecture in
the Central Valley.
THEMES
THEME: Post -Quake Civic and Institutional Development
One of the most important and visible post -earthquake projects was the design of a new City
Hall. The 80-year-old city hall, long considered obsolete, was reduced to rubble in the
earthquake. A new Mid -Century Modern city hall (1501 Truxtun Avenue) was designed by
Eddy & Paynter in 1954. The city also got a new Civic Auditorium (1001 Truxtun Avenue)
during this period. Design development of this facility began in late 1958. An architectural
model shown in the Bakersfield Californian revealed an early design that included two circular
volumes. Project designer Frank Ghezzi, then a young architect in the office of Wright Metcalf
& Parsons, was inspired by the idea of people talking in a circle 2"The Civic Auditorium was
completed in 1961.
Prior to the earthquake there was already talk of the need for expansion of the 1914 Kern
County Jail building. After the quake, Wright Metcalf & Parsons were engaged to design a new
Mid -Century Modern County Jail Facility (1315 Truxtun Avenue).EBE Completed in 1960, the
windowless facility offered a pleasing play of volumes and textures. Another elegant Mid -
Century Modern style building was the 1957 Kern County Free Library (1119 Chester Avenue)
21 Bakersfield Built. The 1960s, Symposium, September 21, 2019, Bakersfield Museum of Art.
1e Determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places In 2012,
91
by Whitney Biggar, son of the architect Charles H. Biggar, who had established his own firm in
1949.
Bakersfield Civic Auditorium, as seen in 1970. (Kern County
Museum)
Kern General Hospital (1830 Flower Street) sustained significant damage in the earthquake.
The unreinforced concrete masonry structure was almost a total loss and demolition ensued.
The commission for the new building was given to the local firm of Alford & Thomas,
collaborating with Los Angeles -based architects Walker, Kalionzes & Klingerman, who
specialized in hospital design. The project was budgeted at $3,000,000. Like Kern General,
Mercy Hospital (2215 Truxtun Avenue) was also badly damaged by the earthquake and
patients had to be immediately evacuated. The structure was ultimately demolished and
replaced by a four-story modern building by Lewis Herlbut, associate architect of Frank F.
Georgeson of San Francisco.
The combination of Bakersfield's postwar population boom, sprawling suburbanization, and
damage done by the earthquake, fueled many new public school projects during this period.
Many of the new residential subdivisions promoted the proximity of new school facilities as
selling points for their tract homes. The Bakersfield Californian listed dozens of school
expansion or addition projects between 1953 and 1960.
The school district appears to have hired local architects almost exclusively, with much of the
work going to Ernest L. McCoy, Wright Metcalf & Parsons, Stuhr & Hicks, and Alford &
Thomas. New Mid -Century Modern schools constructed during this period include
Washington Middle School (1101 Noble Avenue); McKinley School (6014th Street); Highland
Elementary School (2900 Barnett Street); Freemont Elementary School (607 Texas Street); and
Williams School (1201 Williams Street). Significant additions were also made to Jefferson
School (816 Lincoln Street), with numerous additions made at other existing schools.
L. d l
92
Additionally, two new high schools were built in Bakersfield during the 1950s: North High
School (300 Galaxy Avenue) by Alford & Thomas, and South High School (1101 Planz Road) by
Ernest McCoy. Additionally, in 1961 Clifford Harding designed the post -and -beam School
Employees Federal Credit Union building (4530 Ming Avenue) in the Mid -Century Modern
style.
The pace of school construction slowed somewhat during the 1960s. Architect Whitney Biggar
joined the roster of architects being awarded projects by the school district. One of the most
important school projects was Biggar's Highland High School (2900 Royal Scots Way) in 1965.
Nicknamed "Hexagon High" by the Bakersfield Californian, the project used Biggar's preferred
geometrical shape to organize classrooms and the campus plan. The school was featured in the
book California School Buildings 1960-1965, published by the Bureau of School Buildings as one
of the 25 finest school designs of the early 1960s. The campus design is a cluster of small
buildings with broad eaves and sheltered walkways. The opening of the site plans permitted the
breezes to blow freely. For each hexagonal structure, interior walls were not load bearing and
could be moved or eliminated for maximum classroom flexibility.
West High School plan, September 19, 1964. (Bakersfield Californian)
During this period, many religious congregations took the opportunity to build new sanctuaries.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church was rebuilt after the earthquake. In 1953, Ernest McCoy designed
the new First Christian Church (1660 S Street) in the Mid -Century Modern -style, featuring
glue -laminated arches. That same year, Whitney Biggar designed the new First Congregational
Church (5 Real Road). The design featured concrete blocks set in a distinctive pattern and small
93
star -like stained glass windows. The earthquake also destroyed the St. Francis Church, and a
replacement structure was designed for the same location in 1953 by Chaix and Johnson, an
architectural firm from Los Angeles. Additional examples of churches built during the 1950s
include St. John's Lutheran Church (1030 4th Street) by O.J. Bruer, and First Presbyterian
Church (1705 17th Street) by Allison & Rible.
In 1953, the Cain African Methodist Church (630 California Avenue) selected Ernest McCoy to
design a new sanctuary to seat 250 worshippers, with a choir loft for 50 more. The building had
folding doors along the side to enclose three rooms to be used for Sunday School classes. In
1954, Congregation B'nai Jacob built a new synagogue (1660 S Street); this building is
attributed to Wilson Call.E11 The new Late Modern -style St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church
(7100 Stockdale Highway), designed by architect Robert Stuhr, opened in 1974. The church was
constructed of concrete block with glue -laminated beams, and an exposed beam and plank
ceiling. The facilities included a sanctuary, nave, sacristy, and altar boy room. The same year, a
new social hall for Christ the King Church (Linda Vista and Bedford Way) was opened, designed
by local architect Cliff Harding.
THEME: Post -Quake Commercial Development
After the earthquake, many of Bakersfield's downtown office buildings, such as the Haberfelde
Building, were deemed unsafe and remained unoccupied for an extended period of time. This
loss of office space, combined with an increasingly suburban customer base, cause many
professionals to build and occupy small, single -story office buildings, called "professional
buildings." The City of Bakersfield is home to an impressive population of well -designed Mid -
Century Modern professional buildings, originally occupied by doctors, dentists, lawyers, and
architects.
Small medical offices include the Boydstone Medical Building (1805 28th Street) by Robert N.
Eddy; the Dr. Wong Medical Office Building (2615 H. Street) by Goss and Choy; the Clerou/Fox
Medical Building (2128 Truxtun Avenue) by Wright Metcalf & Parsons; and the Coker Cawley
Medical Center (192118th Street) also by Wright Metcalf & Parsons. A substantial subset of
these professional buildings are actually the architects' own offices. Examples include the
Ernest McCoy Office (2811 H Street); the Wright Metcalf & Parsons Office (2323 E Street); the
Robert Eddy Office (2901 H Street); the Robert Stuhr Office (3121 California); the Frapwell &
Ghezzi Office (1717 28th Street); and the Goss & Choy Office (920 Chester Avenue).
With continued suburban residential tract growth around Bakersfield, many new shopping
centers sprang up to serve these populations. Neighborhood shopping centers were typically
smaller in scale and were occupied by neighborhood -serving retailers, such as grocery stores,
hardware stores, stationers, or pharmacies. While regional shopping centers were destinations
that spanned entire superblocks and typically included one or department store anchors
tenants, entertainment or recreational options such as an arcades or ice skating rink, and a food
court.
EB' To be confirm with a building permit search.
94
The Kern City Shopping Center was a neighborhood shopping center developed the 1950s by
Eddy & Paynter. This sprawling Ranch -style shopping center was designed to accommodate
vehicular traffic. Originally, the Kern County Shopping Center featured a grocery store, drug
store, laundromat, barbershop, gas station, restaurants, and five and dime variety store. When
foot traffic started to diminish, the shopping center closed in 1973. That same year, Stockdale
Development opened a new shopping center, Stockdale Village, at California Avenue and
Stockdale Highway. Expansion of the shopping center commenced almost immediately after its
opening. Eddy, Paynter, Renfro & Associates were charged with the original design and all
expansions.
Also developed during this period was the University Square Shopping Center (across from
Bakersfield College, c. 1962) designed by Novikoff Engineers and Arthur Hasselback, of Milton
Meyer Co. of Beverly Hills. In 1955, Pasadena -based architects Smith & Williams designed Halls
Shopping Fair (Brundage Lane and Wible Road), a commercial market that used billboard
signage to appeal to passing motorists.
Hall's Shopping Fair. (Gibbs, Outside In: the Architecture of Smith and
Williams)
By the 1960s, increased suburbanization in cities across the United States had given rise to a
new phenomenon: the suburban regional shopping center. Envisioned as a utopian alternative
to downtown commercial centers, the architect Victor Gruen, FAIA designed the first shopping
malls outside of Detroit and Minneapolis in the mid-1950s, as well as one of the earliest
enclosed, air-conditioned malls in Southern California, South Coast Plaza. By 1967, Bakersfield
had enough suburban population to warrant a regional shopping center. Gruen's design for
South Coast Plaza was executed concurrently with the design and construction of Valley Plaza
Shopping Center (Ming Avenue and the 99 Freeway). In fact, the opening of Valley Plaza on
February 17, 1967 preceded that of South Coast Plaza by a few weeks."'
Developed by Farber -Gladstone Development Co. and designed by Eddy & Paynter, the one-
story enclosed mall was anchored by a Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Stiles Clements Associates,
1965), and Broadway department store (Charles Luckman Associates, 1966). Prior to the mall's
opening, there was a ground -breaking for an addition with 900 additional feet of mall space,
1r' South Coast Plaza opened March 15, 1967.
�. a ci II I,- r .I '.1'
1
and a suburban version of Brock's department store (Eddy & Paynter, Chaix & Johnson, 1965-
67) 311 Other facilities were also developed as part of this shopping center, including a grocery
store and a movie theater, which were adjacent to but detached from the mall complez.316
This period also saw changes to the commercial development associated with Bakersfield's the
various ethnic enclaves. By the 1950s, Bakersfield's Basque Town was evolving, as there was
less migration and younger generations were becoming more integrated into the larger
community. In 1954, J.B. and Mayie Maitia opened the Wool Growers restaurant down the
street from the Pyrenees and Noriega's.$87 However, by the 1970s Basque restaurants were
appearing elsewhere in Bakersfield outside the confines of Basque Town. Chalet Basque was
founded in 1969 by J.B. and Marie Curuchague. Matia moved his Woolgrowers restaurant to a
new location (620 E. 19th Street). Most of the boarding houses no longer served communal
meals, ut instead moved to a more traditional restaurant business model with individual table
service. As author Jaronima Echeverria notes, by the 1970s, the only continuity was Grace
Elizalde, who remained manager of the Noriega Hotel until her death in 1974.211
In Chinatown, Bill Lee's Bamboo Chopsticks restaurant (230818th Street) was enlarged and
remodeled in the Mid -Century Modern style by Robert Eddy. Lee, a restaurateur in Chinatown
dating back to the 1939, was a Bakersfield resident in the 1920s. In 1964, the Italian Heritage
Society and the Dante Society merged to form one organization dedicated to promoting the
culture of Italy and fostering understanding.
THEME: Post -Quake Industrial Development
After the earthquake, the Kern County and the City of Bakersfield continued their respective
campaigns to lure industrial development to the region. In 1953, the Bakersfield Chamber of
Commerce produced a brochure entitled "Greater Bakersfield Invites You:' The brochure
touted the area's large labor pool, availability of raw materials, low-cost transportation, and the
presence of other manufacturers and distributors. The brochure once again focused on the
110-acre industrial tract developed by Clifton Carpenter, Joe Gannon, and attorney S.B. Gill.
The tract— bounded by Virginia Avenue on the north, Brundage Lane on the south, Mt. Vernon
Avenue on the east and Washington Street on the west —offered railroad spurs, sewage, water
and gas lines, with industrial sites were available for as little as $3,000 per acre.281
Among the industrial enterprises attracted to the area was Brea Chemical Co. (225 Industrial
Street), a subdivision of the Union Oil Company. Industries related to the oil and agriculture
industries continued to thrive in the postwar period. In 1955, The Republic Supply Company
(3600 Rosedale Highway) moved to a new plant in a location more convenient for its
customers. The company first came to the Bakersfield area in 1928 and purchased the
Associated Supply Co. The new plant was designed by Los Angeles architect George Vernon
Russell, on five acres to maximize efficiency of customer service. The plant contained
es Brock's downtown store had been remodeled In 1953, after the earthquake by Robert Eddy and C. M. Deasy who were partnered at
that point.
as "six Students Spotlighted at Center," Bakersfield Californian, January 26, 19". 13.
P0' Twenty years later they moved to a new location at 620 E. 19" Street; it Is still run by the Maitia family.
as Jeronima Echeverria, Home Away From Home, NEED PAGE.
3"'Industrial Brochure Published By Chamber,' Bakersfield Californian, August 6, 1953, 17.
96
warehousing facilities, administrative offices, and living quarters for staff who provided 24-hour
service to customers.
As part of the campaign to attract industry, Bakersfield's educators rallied to ensure a trained
and equipped workforce. Vocational and technical education and apprentice programs were
developed by the Kern County High School and Junior College District and Bakersfield High
School and College.
California Cotton Plant, circa 1959. (Getty Research
Institute)
Efforts to industrialize Bakersfield continued during the 1960s. In 1961, the initial 900-acre
phase of the Stockdale Industrial District was developed by the Del E. Webb Corporation and
the Kern County Land Co.'" By 1965, Kern County Land Co. bought out Webb's interest and
continued with plans to develop the 6,000 acre industrial, residential, and commercial
community in Stockdale. One of the early occupants of the Stockdale Industrial District was
the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. In 1962, Furniture City Upholstery Company of Grand Rapids,
Michigan opened a new facility (5000 District Boulevard). In 1962, General Electric leased a
new 40,000-square-foot building on three acres to warehouse the most quintessential product
of the 1950s: television sets.
THEME: Post -Quake Residential Development
The postwar residential tract development that began in the years prior to the earthquake
continued in the years following. Many of the larger developments continued to open new
phases and/or build on still unimproved parcels. New tract subdivisions, freeway construction,
and on -going commercial development all helped to fueled additional residential development
during the 1960s. Between 1960 and 1961, the Bakersfield Building Department issued more
than 1,600 permits, more than half of which were residential."'
p9 -Furniture Firm Opens New Stockdale Plant; Bakersfield Calif rnian, November 14,196Z 47.
"ADD SOURCE, 20.
97
College Heights
Stockdale Manor Dunsmoor Construction Smith & 1954-55. 1955-c. 1957
Co. Williams
Benton Park Randall Presley Some by James 1955-1957 1955-c. 1957
Ticer
Westfair Park
Fairway Development and
1960-1964
1960-19"
Lard Company (Forrest A.
Cassady)
Kern City
Stockdale Corporation (Del
Eddy & Paynter
1961-1978
1%2- c.
Webb Corporation and
1978
KCL)
Lou Mar Village
Dandy Homes, Inc.
Possibly Wilson
1961
1961-1964
Call
Stockdale Estates
Stockdale Development
1961-1972
1%2-c. 1968
Westhaven
Stockdale Development
1963-1966
1965-c. 1970
Oldham's Park
1968-1969
1968-1972
West
Watenbarger
1972-1974
1972-1975
Tract
Quailwood
Stockdale Development
1973-1978
1974 c. 1985
Source: TO BE ADDED
College Heights was the largest residential subdivision in Bakersfield history. Named for the
adjacent Bakersfield College, it consisted of ten separate tracts and more than 1,600 residential
lots. Early newspaper accounts described it as a mammoth development that was the size of a
small town. Ralph L. Smith's plans for the development called for an area of multi -family
residences closer to the college and shopping centers along the perimeter. The earliest homes
in the development were west located of Haley Street. The 640-acre College Heights Tract was
officially annexed to the City of Bakersfield in September 1953.
The sheer size of the College Heights development required that several builders be engaged to
erect the houses. Thus, it appears that developer Ralph L Smith, Jr. partnered with a series of
local contractors to build out the College Heights tract. Contractors included Gannon
Construction, Ken Mynatt, James R. Hewitt, Orrvill Harris, Roy Watenbarger, and Randall
Presley. The southern half of the subdivision was built out with modest Minimal Traditional,
Ranch, and Contemporary -style two- and three -bedroom residences. While association with
specific architects has not been confirmed, it is likely that these contractors used or modified
existing plans they had used previously.
Builder Randall Presley was responsible for the more expensive homes in the subdivision. As
the houses sold, the development pushed northward towards Panorama Drive, where lots and
M
residences increased in size. In June of 1955, Presley opened 33 custom homes. The model
home (1201 Shattuck Avenue) was a Ranch -style residence with a dovecote. The northernmost
portion of the development came to be known as Upper College Heights. Constructed between
1955 and 1956, these homes tended to be more than 2,000 square feet and three- to five-
bedrooms.R1' By 1957, College Heights was mostly built out, making it the largest subdivision of
Ranch homes in Bakersfield.
Stockdale Manor, a 262-parcel subdivision, featured homes designed by Pasadena -based
architects Smith & Williams. These three -and four -bedroom homes were Mid -Century
Modern and Modern Ranch in style and featured expressive post -and -beam construction. The
homes featured walls of glass sliding doors, open -beam ceilings, air conditioning, and fully -
equipped kitchens."'
Developed by Randall Presley, Benton Park was another mid-1950s subdivision. Although it is
unknown who designed the early homes for Benton Park, in Fall of 1962, an ad in the
Bakersfield Californian indicates that James E. Ticer, Jr, an architect formerly associated with
Eddy & Paynter, was now designing plans for Benton Park. Buyers could select from a number
of pre -designed plans, or Ticer would create a custom design114
Westfair Park was a small residential tract developed by Forrest A. Cassady, President of
Fairway Development & Land Co. The development featured Ranch -style homes in various
subtypes, including Rustic, Storybook, Asiatic, etc. Other contractors also built in the
subdivision, notably the J. L. Dandy Company, which purchased 40 lots in the subdivision by
1960. By 1961, Dandy was offering Ranch and Contemporary -style homes in Westfair Park. Al
Shutz Construction Co. built several homes in the southern portion of the development.
Another builder, J.F. Smith Corp., constructed two-story homes in Westfair. Marketed by Ralph
Smith to growing families, they had four bedrooms and were designed predominantly in the
Ranch style. "'
Lou Mar Village was developed by Dandy Homes, Inc.?' Stockdale Estates took a cue from
Kern City, and developed Stockdale Country Club Estates where recreation facilities —
swimming pool, tennis courts, community center —were reserved for community residents. The
developers even engaged the same master planner as for Kern City. Stockdale Development
would later develop West Park, Westhaven, Sagepoint, Westwood Estates, and Quailwood—
transforming the area southwest of downtown Bakersfield.
Quailwood, by Stockdale Development, was meant to provide satellite housingfor nearby Cal
State Bakersfield. The development was originally designed to include 1,600 single-family
residences, four-plexes and apartment buildings, as well as a park, three schools, and a
shopping center. That level of density was never realized due to community objection. The
initial development at Quailwood consisted of single-family residences, mostly Ranch -style
"' 1RP Historical Consulting Key Postwor Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakers(Ad Areo, 62.
More research required. Additional information to come after visit to UCSB archive.
"Announcement," Bakersfield Californian, September 8, 1962, 5.
JRP Historical Consulting Key Poi Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakers(,etd Area, 77.
a6 These homes may be by architect Wilson Call; his project list indicates that he did projects for 'Dandy Homes.
99
homes were constructed by Gannon Construction and Stewart & Wattenbarger. Quailwood's
multi -family housing was not built until after 1975.297
During the late 1960s, Bakersfield architect Dave Gardner Cross established a prefabricated
home manufacturing company called American Home Industries Corporation. Although details
of the transaction are unclear, Cross appears to have purchased the manufacturing plant of
Hugh Curran's Mobilhome Corporation (1400 Q Street).
Cross applied his architectural design skills to a production process that assembled an entire
housing unit in a single day —including a built-in kitchen, appliances, and plumbing. The
completed house would then be trucked to the site and "plugged in.""' American Home
Industries manufactured both single-family residences and apartment buildings. American
Home Industries Corporation produced what was then the country's largest tract of factory -
built dwellings with a 299-home subdivision north of Calexic0.299 In June of 1971, a fire
consumed the Bakersfield plant. However, the company bounced back, and during the mid-
1970s Curran and Cross developed Tract 3838 on the south side of Auburn Street between
Oswell Street and Fairfax Road."'
During the national postwar building boom, many American cities hosted "showcase houses,"
model homes designed to feature specific building methods or domestic products. Such
showcase house programs were typically supported by a national advertising campaign and
sponsored by various home -related companies and organizations. In 1961, the Horizon Homes
for Better Living project sponsored 100 showcase homes across the country. Contributing
organizations included the National Ready -Mix Concrete Association, the National Concrete
Masonry Association, the Portland Cement Association, the National Association of Home
Builders, and the American Institute of Architects. One of these Horizon Homes was
constructed in Bakersfield.
.....»..._..,.
..........................
Randall Presley's
#* HORIZON HOME
Advertisement for Bakersfield's Horizon Home, September 23, 1961.
(Bakersfield Californian)
19' JRP Historical Consulting, Key Postwar Housing Tracts Within the Greater Bakersfield Area, 81.
1a'Bakersfield's Assembly -Line Home Construction Spreads," Bakersfleld Californian, December 27,1970, 10.
p90 'Nation's Largest Tract of Factory Built Dwellings Taking Shape Near Calexico," Los Angeles Times, May 16,1971, Jl.
J0'New Building System Said to Reduce Price of Homez," Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1979,133.
100
Bakersfield's Horizon Home showcase house was built by developer Randall Presley in his new
Town and Country Estates subdivision. Designed by Eddy & Paynter, the Bakersfield Horizon
Home (5712 Pembroke Avenue) featured concrete blocks in a variety of decorative patterns,
and an expressive roofline of the decidedly Mid -Century Modern type that distinguished it
from its Ranch -style neighbors. The Horizon Homes was open for public inspection in
September of 1961.
Ongoing wealth from oil and agriculture continued to propel custom single-family residential
construction after the earthquake. One of the most unusual homes was the Phillip A. Kilpstein
Residence (2308 Spruce Street) by Newport Beach -based architect Philmer Ellerhoek. Built in
1953, it was a modern Bermuda -inspired home featuring a poured pumice roof and glass
window walls 301 Eugene Kinn Choy received several commissions for Bakersfield residences
after the earthquake, including the Rose Residence, which was built on speculation. Other
Bakersfield architects working in residential design during this period included Whitney Biggar,
Eddy & Paynter, David Cross, and Jack Hayslett. Examples of their Mid -Century Modern
custom homes include the Lowell and Phyllis Dabbs Residence (5200 Ojai Drive); the Earl
Elliott Residence (5201 Wingfoot Drive); the Sudarsky Residence (409 S. Oleander Drive); the
George Poloynis Residence (685 Magnolia Avenue).
Around 1961, Wilson Call designed his own family home in the Mid -Century Modern style. The
Call Residence (3014 Panorama Drive) overlooked the oilfields where he himself had been born
in a shack.303 Similarly, in 1963 Robert Eddy designed his own Mid -Century Modern -style
residence (7219 Meadowbrook Lane) under the banner of Eddy & Paynter.
Not all custom homes from this period were Modern in style, as some clients preferred a more
traditional or Ranch -style design. The 1954 William H. Macdonald Residence (2111 Beech
Street) by Peter Kump is an example of a modified Ranch -style home. In 1960, Beverly Hills
architect John P. Pederen designed the Anna Lumis Residence (2420 Myrtle Street) in the
Modern Ranch style.
Impressively, two of the greatest masters of American modernism— Richard J. Neutra and
Frank Lloyd Wright —both designed residences in Bakersfield during this period. The 1958
Leddy Residence (2501 Dracena Street) was built for a Pat Leddy, daughter of the pioneering
Stockton family, as a wedding gift. Leddy's family gifted the newlyweds a portion of the large
lot on which sat the family's turn -of -the -century Gothic Revival farmhouse. Pat Leddy—a
former Martha Graham dancer and devotee of the arts —selected Richard Neutra to produce
the plans for their new residence, which she and her husband Albert then built themselves.
In 1958, after purchasing a hilltop lot in the Country Club subdivision on the east side of
Bakersfield, Mildred Ablin appealed to Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for her and her
family. As former students of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Dr. and Mrs. Ablin were
very familiar with Wright's work. To their surprise, Wright agreed and the Ablin Residence
(4260 Country Club Drive) became one of the last projects. Wright completed the design
before his death in 1959, but he did not live to see the completed work. Rather, the house was
01 It is currently unknown if the pumice construction techniques were in anyway related to the Anderson Monolithic Structures.
3s Email from David Coffey, November 3, 2022,
101
constructed in 1960-61 under the watchful eye of Taliesin Associated Architects, including
Taliesin Fellow Thomas Olson, who supervised construction for a year and a half.
Ablin House, no date. (Esoteric Survey)
The Ablin Residence is fundamentally a hexagonal Usonian house. Its base unit of design is the
equilateral (30/60/90) triangle, which is used in plan, section, and detail. The house is an
evolved example of Wright's breaking -the -box plan that clearly delineates the public/private
and adult/children spaces in separate wings radiating from the central hearth/kitchen volume.
The house also expresses Wright's delicate manipulation of compression and expansion of
space. Visitors are guided along a low battered wall and overhang on the exterior, leading to an
interior explosion of light and space in the main living area, which features a dramatic 16-foot-
high and 48-foot-wide expanse of glass looking out to views of golf course and mountains
beyond.
Postwar residential development in Bakersfield appears to have been primarily centered on the
construction of single-family residences, as apartment buildings and other multi -family
dwelling types appear in lesser numbers as compared with other Southern California
communities during the same period. In August of 1950, for example, building permits for
single-family residences numbered 27 but only two apartment buildings were permitted.30' The
exception to this trend was public housing. After the earthquake, the effort to develop more
public housing units continued. Oro Vista (1104 Robertson Street) was expanded, and by June
of 1954, all 184 units were occupied; 90 percent of residents were African American, ten
percent were Latino 304
The general lack of multi -family residential development during this period may have been due
in part to the required zoning changes in single-family neighborhoods. This made the process of
'Building Permits In August Near Million Mark;' Bakere(e/d Californian, September 5,1950,15.
14�'Oro Vista Housing Units Now Filled, Project Officer Says,' Bakersfield Californian, June 9, 1954, 34,
102
building multi -family housing cumbersome and proposed projects were often met with
resistance from nearby homeowners. Conversely, the presence of Bakersfield College and Cal
State Bakersfield acted as magnets for multi -family residential development. The area just east
of Bakersfield College was rife with apartment buildings, such as Columbus Street north of
University Avenue. Coachlite Villas (4401 Columbus Street) and College Townhouse (3932
Christmas Tree Lane) are two examples of Mid -Century Modern -style apartment design.
During the late 1960s and through the mid-1970s, several new real estate trends influenced the
development of multi -family properties throughout California. Multi -family residential projects
were becoming larger in scale, often spanning entire blocks and incorporating extensive
landscaping, community facilities, and other amenities. Then the townhouse development
appeared on the scene, largely due to the widespread adoption of the condominium financing
structure. These trends reflected a movement away from single-family residential ownership as
empty nesters elected to downsize and eliminate responsibility for property maintenance.
Panorama Highlands (Church and Eton streets) was an early "own your own apartment"
complex by developer John Deeter. By 1962, Deeter was advertising two- and three -bedroom
apartments for individuals who were "tired of yard work, like to travel or play golf."105 Panorama
Gardens (3901 Union Avenue), a Mid -Century Modern multi -family residential complex by
local architects Eddy & Paynter was another example of the early apartment ownership trend.
Panorama Gardens featured two- and three -bedroom models with split-level plans. Another
example of the type was the Villa Vista Apartment Homes (911 Panorama Drive), featuring a
central pool and patio.
Panorama Gardens, as photographed by Julius
Shulman, 1959. (Getty Research Institute)
The condominium movement was born out of the earlier co-op apartment trend. However,
condominiums diverged from co-op apartment arrangements, like Panorama Highlands, in that
the residences were not collectively owned. Rather, each unit was owned individually, but
common areas were subject to collective ownership. Typically, a homeowners' associations
"' Classified Ad, Bakersfeld Californian, December 8,1962, 33.
li... I..I I.. I _I. _.I i,,F
103
would be established to collect monthly ownership dues from the condo owners to fund
maintenance of the property exterior and common areas. A lack of financing for the new
ownership concept, however, suppressed initial development of the concept. In 1961, the FHA
was only authorized to insure mortgages on condos for 85 percent of the appraised value. It
wasn't until September 1963, when tax appraisal methods for condominiums were settled, that
developers began building condominiums in earnest. The condominium craze was relatively
subdued in Bakersfield, likely due to an over -abundance of single-family housing in the city.
In the 1970s, multi -family residential development increasingly emphasized leisure activities.
Boating, golf, and tennis became popular sports and many complexes incorporated these
recreational facilities into their offered amenities. Examples in Bakersfield include the Plaza
Reale condominiums (Sampson Court east of S. Real Road) from the early 1970s; and Pinion
Springs Village (Ming Avenue west of New Stine Road), a grouping of four -unit split-level
townhomes built in 1972-74 by the Loews Corporation/J.H. Snyder. By the mid-1970s larger
apartment complex projects were being greenlit by the City's Planning Commission. The 24-
unit Westchester Place Apartments (1951 Golden State Highway) demonstrates the
movement to larger complexes. Panorama Pointe (southwest corner of Panorama Drive and
Columbus Street), a 260-unit apartment complex with three swimming pools, was approved for
development in May of 1974.
�..,..,i. L1 1 1 i..n. V. t,r_
104
CONTEXT: Bakersfield Today,1975-present
Over the last fifty years, the population of Bakersfield has increased exponentially, making it
one of the fastest growing cities in California. It continues to be a hub of agricultural and
energy production.
Figure 6. Bakersfield Population Growth 1970.2020
1970
69,515
N/A
1980
105,611
51.9%
1990
174,820
65.5%
2000
247,057
413%
2010
347,483
40.6%
2020
403,355
16.1%
Source: U.S. Census
Over the years, the city has also become more ethnically diverse. In 2020, the City of
Bakersfield was 38.9% White, 7.0 percent Black, 52.7 percent Latino, 7.8 percent Asian; 16.6
percent of residents identified as multi-racial.306
As the population of Bakersfield has continued to evolve, so has its built environment. In 1977,
the city experienced a historic dust storm, with winds up to 200 miles per hour, which called
millions of dollars in damage in the city. By the early 1980s, the three-mile stretch of Union
Avenue once dotted with dozens of motels, restaurants, and gas stations was no longer a
destination for road -tripping tourists. In 1996, Buck Owens opened the Crystal Palace music
venue which became an instant Bakersfield landmark. Owens built the Crystal Palace as a
proper performance venue, in contrast with the small, smoke -filled bars and honky-tonks he
had played in for decades. Owens performed there frequently until his death in 2006.
Bakersfield's resilience to economic boom and bust times hit a snag during the recession of
2007. Kern County experienced triple the national rate of foreclosures. By 2010, the county's
unemployment rate had soared to 18.3 percent, an all-time high.3p7 California's ongoing drought
has also dealt a significant blow to the agricultural economy, which continues to struggle. All of
Kern County has battled the effects of Valley Fever, a respiratory condition caused by a fungus
in the soil, a condition to which Central Valley agricultural workers and prison inmates are
particularly susceptible.
In recent decades, however, the City of Bakersfield has started to rebound. The restoration and
refurbishment of the Padre Hotel in 2010 is a prominent example of this economic turnaround.
The city has also seen an upturn in the housing market, which in turn has boosted the city's
fortunes. The arts and culture scene has begun to thrive again, helping the city to both draw
,- ADD CITATION.
307 Bakersfield com, timeline of 150 years. httpSV/www.bakersfield.com/special/150-years/ (accessed October 4, 2022).
105
tourists and re-establish a sense of civic pride. In the most recent period, of course, the City of
Bakersfleld has had to whether the effects of Covid-19 and its impact on the economy and the
community overall.
The city's destiny has always been tied to water: sometimes too much of it, sometimes not
enough. Regardless, the residents of Bakersfield have proven to be remarkably resilient. In
various ways, the story of this city both reflects and defies the broader patterns of growth and
development in the region, leaving unique imprint on the history of the Central Valley, the
state, and the nation.
THEMES
This period is outside the scope of this project. Therefore, no themes have been developed for
this context.
CONTEXT: Architecture and Design,1860-1975
THEME: Late-19th Century Architecture
THEME: The Craftsman Movement
THEME: Early-20th Century Period Revival Styles
THEME: Early Modernist Styles
THEME: Postwar Modernist Styles
THEME: Late Modernist Styles
106
f,
107
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